Schiavone Quits GOP

Well, sorry to hear that. A reminder to him and everyone else: all politics are local. If you don't like the direction your party is going in, get involved! Quitting helps no one.

I'm seeing more and more folks jump ship from the Republican Party, as my family has done just that as well, although while they chose to go the un-affiliated route, I decided to join up with the Libertarian Party.

I must say, after reading and learning more about the Libertarian's... it's astonishing to me that I did not join up with the Libertarians 30 years ago - I mean, I certainly knew about them - but perhaps is because back then, I still had faith in and was a very proud Republican.

So, regarding Joel's sentiment about how he hopes that "there's an alternative Party somewhere in the near future..." there's one right now which based on what I have read here in this article, may suit his needs quite well.

I hope Joel considers joining the Libertarian Party.
I know I'm glad I did !!

What is NHI's infatuation with this old man? Yes, he began the gentrification of downtown, but he failed to maintain, made not just himself but his lender insolvent, leaving Yale to pick up the pieces, while he retired to a comfortable life in Guilford.

My father, who grew up on a farm in Kansas, resigned from the Republican Party after the unwarranted invasion of Iraq. He turned into one of the biggest Obama fans ever. It seems to me that decent Republicans should have fled this immoral party long ago. But it's not too late for them to save their souls. Resign, repudiate, and help build a better America.

@stevehamm How ironic on both counts! Obama went on to perpetual war in the Middle East and you fail to repudiate anything the democrats have done wrong.

Obama immediately and dramatically reduced the US military presence in Iraq, and only ramped it back up in response to ISIS to help our allies, including the Kurds and the Yazidis. To equate Bush's unwarranted invasion of Iraq with Obama's earnest efforts to get out without allowing a humanitarian disaster is to abuse the truth.

Correction: Joel ran for Mayor in 2001 not 2003

He even played banjo with alt-candidate Little Miss Mess-up!
Unfortunately, The Guilty Party was 20 years too early!!!!

Note to VoteRepublican: You are going to get nowhere in New Haven with the Republican party. As others have suggested, start a Third Party of your own that shed's the vile baggage of the deaf Elephants.

The threshold for being 'recognized' as a legitimate party in CT is so low, and there is always enough 'discontent' roaming around to pick up the 1% you would need at the polls to have your own 'political enterprise', where your message would not be convoluted with Q-Anoners and the likes.

Unfortunately John Carlson(VR), Disavowing the dangerous 'faction' of your party would be a good start. Distancing yourself completely, though, would be your best move.

Sincerely Reaching around the Aisle,

Bill Saunders
Founder, The Guilty Party (2001-2005 RIP)

@bill saunders and anyone else: "disavowing" and other news can be found on newhavenrepublicans.com under "resolutions" and other news can be found on our multiple social media sites, Facebook being the main one.

The Slums of East Derby,

The Libertarian Party is nothing but a White Male 'racist lite' version of the Republicans Party, cloaked in ideas of personal freedoms, and diminished governance. Unfortunately, they can't chew cud and take a crap at the same time, but they might sound appealing while trying to! MOO!

So I take it he is just not disappointed with the Republicans but he certainly can not see himself becoming a Democrat. So he is an independent. I'm thinking of leaving the Democratic Party and becoming an independent also.

VoteRepublican,

If you want people to take you seriously and have an 'independent look' at you and your 'party', I would recommend 'disavowing' the Fascist Wing of your party IN PUBLIC at every turn.

You have the opportunity to disavow them right now -- if you think your cageyness is going to generate 'political interest', you are sorely mistaken. And urging people to Vote Republican while making shallow political arguments (as your did with Steve Hamm) is another 'dead stop'.

VR,

And you didn't even provide 'a link'.
I guess we are supposed to take your word for it!!!!

VOTE REPUBLICAN,

I just visited the site cited. Under resolutions, there is policy, but no 'disavowal'.

You really need to address the Elephant in the Room that's taking up all of the oxygen, otherwise you are destined to choke.

btw If you proffer taking away New Haven's Sanctuary City status, you have already cemented defeat!

Will Paul Bass do an article on "The Walkaway Movement" ?

Might be more important to have a story on thousands of people leaving a party rather than one person, don't you think?

[Paul: Thanks for suggestion! Definitely interested in writing about New Haven public figures who run for office as Greens or Democrats or Libertarians, then leave their party because they disagree with the direction.]

From the man that once said, "my father gave me a million dollars when I was twenty-one, and I turned it into a fortune."

VOTE REPUBLICAN

Remember -- All Politics are Local.

Given that fact, how many of the two-thousand registered Republicans in New Haven are 'walking away'...?
If you look at 2016 vs. 2020, a few hundred more People in New Haven voted for Trump this vote around!

And your still not 'walking away'? Still not 'denouncing' the fascism in your Party?
Asking Paul to write an article about a 'movement' that you are not even a part of?
I am not sure I understand your position at all!

Joel's a stand-up guy. If he ran for office today, he'd have my vote.

I've known Joel since the 80s and he has always been a true solid Republican! This speaks volumes! Way to go Joel! Those lackeys that say "quitting helps no one" don't get it! It is a huge statement from someone who has been a member of the party for more decades than any of those low intelligence reptile brain Trumplicans! Thousand of Republicans in ALL states are quitting the GOP since Jan 6th! They are primarily going independent! The party is collapsing at an accelerating rate and good riddance!

@Chip
Chip calls Trump supporters "...low intelligence reptile brain Trumplicans!"
Chip, perhaps when these reptiles stop delivering food to your supermarkets, stop cleaning your offices and homes, stop fixing your cars, your plumbing, roads, and stop taking care of your kid, stop plowing your roads, picking up your garbage, etc. you'll have a better opinion of Trump supporters as you sit on your virtue signaling perch. Fool!

Whether you're Democrat or Republican you should disavow extremists and far out radicals in your party, not abandon it to the nut jobs! They're the ones who should have to start a new party, don't let them kidnap your party for their own.
Violence and threats and lies should be unacceptable to everyone, regardless of your political beliefs.

Heather C.

Parties change over time, as is evidenced by the 'party of lincoln' crowd.

Judging from the 194 seats in Congress that voted against certifying a legal election, these 'extremists' have reached 'majority status', and I don't think that is going to change anytime soon.

Yes, people are leaving the Republican party by the 'thousands' -- that is chump change!!!! It should be by the millions!!!

Let the party rot. The greed, arrogance, and abuse of power is palpable. And if disenchanted Republicans want to change party and condemn the current state of Elephant Affairs, they should be welcomed for speaking out.

Unfortunately, they are a Minority, and they are not saving anything but themselves.

Yo Bill, that was funny.... I just had to share it with my pals back home in Brooklyn, also Staten Island - who are in the party which you obviously despise...... and they were like, "we're just a bunch of anti-racist anarchists who want to be left alone, do our thing, and not have the government rain on our parade" which truth be told - sounds pretty damn good to me - better than anything the Greens or the WF party could ever come up with [**both parties I was once a part of but felt I had to leave...]

Regarding "personal freedoms, and diminished governance" I soooooooo love how you make that sound like it's such a bad thing and twist it into it being a party of racists... funny, I just screened Doctor Zhivago last night... I know which party you'd be a huge fan of !!

It's alright brother, I remember Little Miss Mess Up... as I took in the Rock Against Racism concerts in New Haven twenty years back or so, and while they were good, they had nothing on the RAR concerts in Central Park back in the 1980s.... and yes, I had a lot of respect for you back then.

Cheers Mate !!

Anarchy Peace LOVE and Freedom

PS: my dog Loki moo's when she is :) :) :)

Bill Saunders- there are lots of old style Republicans in government who are afraid to stand up to the Trumpists and Tea Partyiers wing of their party because they're afraid of the voters who are a vocal minority. If the cowards who are in the party stood up and spoke the truth instead of capitulating to the conspiracy theorists and liars so as not to lose the voting base, then less people would be thinking that the nut jobs are telling the truth. All the Republicans who decided to not run for re-election and stepped down instead of standing up for their conscience, and all those who perpetuate the lies and the conspiracies in their desire for power instead of standing up for the facts should be ashamed of themselves. If you leave the Republican party because you are disgusted by the extremists taking it over, you are part of the problem. If you stay in the party and stand up for facts, rational thought, and to support the election of more traditional representatives of the original
Republican Party, then you are preventing the takeover of the Republican Party. In our current 2 party system, the thought of more extremists running for elected offices in the next elections and possibly winning is a truly frightening possibility. This trend won't end with Trump, unless the Traditional Republicans stand up against this extremist delusional faction, their party will be lost to them forever. In our 2 party system, society always blames the current administration for the current state of the nation, even for issues not in the control of government. If the crazies take over one of the parties, the odds are good that the next would-be dictator will be successful in destroying our democracy. I'd much rather argue with a rational traditional
Republican over policies and priorities than with a conspiracy theorist delusional megalomaniac about whether or not the earth is flat and demons have taken over the Congress in a pedophile cannibalistic Jew sex cult that has laser beams.

This is pretty good Heather, as you almost make me feel guilty of leaving the Republican Party, but there is one slight problem: I don't.

"If you leave the Republican party because you are disgusted by the extremists taking it over, you are part of the problem. If you stay in the party and stand up for facts, rational thought, and to support the election of more traditional representatives of the original
Republican Party, then you are preventing the takeover of the Republican Party."

When I saw both parties crapping themselves in unity on January 6th, I really stared to see things a little differently.

Blaming folks for leaving a Party that they no longer want anything to do with as the coming downfall of the party, that's a terrible argument - like blaming the rape victim for their attack, or the poor sod who forgot to lock their car for why it got ripped off... it simply does not work.

In NYC, in the early 1980s I was a Republican, then by the mid 80s a Conservative.
Believe me - that party then was nothing like the Conservative Party today, if anything the Conservatives back then were more like Libertarians.

Once in CT, which I view as a huge mistake in retrospect... I joined the Republicans.

A short while later - I became an Independent, but then I went back to Republican, all the way out to 2003 when I left in a fit of rage and fury and joined the Greens.
But the Green Party was short lived, I might have gone back to Republican - but I'm pretty sure I was a registered Green twice.

I know the second time I left the Greens, it was because I felt they were going in a direction which I felt was wishywashy... so back to the Republicans, then The Working Families - which I also left really angry - back to the Republicans, until I saw that Democrats and Republicans are both the same, just a show - like WWF wrestling...

Sorry, but the idea of Liberty and Freedom really appeals to me these days, and I'm not staying on a sinking ship.

No one else should either.

Slums Of East Derby- it's a sinking ship because so many elected Republicans are allowing the extremists to have the loudest voice. If you allow the takeover out of fear of losing votes, and don't stand up and speak out like Liz Chaney and Mitt Romney and John McCain, then you have no one but yourselves to blame. If you allow the fox in the henhouse, because you didn't mend the chicken wire fencing and you threw up your hands and walked away, you are responsible for all the dead chickens. A responsible farmer would mend the fencing and set out a trap for the fox or at least get a dog trained to guard the chickens.

Heather... my goodness !!

I cannot believe what I am reading here, your passion towards saving the Republican Party as you lament it's possible take over by the crazies.... have you considered joining the Republican Party since you are so concerned about it's future ??

This is why I made mention how since I turned 18, in 1983... that for the most part - I would say at least 2/3rds of my voting life - on and off I've been a registered Republican, and how every time I left it was to be a member of either the Greens, or the Working Families, or even for a very very brief moment the Independents [which I truly viewed as a wasted effort on my part].

After Jan 6th I felt that for me it was time for a change yet again, and after some serious soul searching felt that the one party I never considered joining [which is a good question as to why I never did, since many of my friends back home in NYC are proud long term Libertarians...] ended up being the party which deeply resonated with me this time around.

I am in full agreement with you [something that never happens...] with those knuckleheads who are seemly trying to take the party over, but my own opinion on what really drove what happened on January 6th had little to do with them/the whole election was stolen thing [although I do have my own questions about that...] and more to do with hard working tax paying folks who have simply had enough.

Honestly, there were all kinds of people young and old there on January 6th but instead the focus - rightly so - was on the real crazed individuals, who to me almost looked as if they knew exactly what they were doing, and how they were doing it, makes you wonder, doesn't it ??

As a licensed trapper - I appreciated your analogy with the farmer trying to protect their livestock/poultry from predators.

Of interest, when I joined the Libertarian Party, I was asked to sign a declaration, which I did with great pride.

I don't think the Republicans will ever have me again.

But

Slums Of East Derby- I'm a liberal Democrat, or closer to a Democratic Socialist, but I appreciate balance. I believe there are good people who are old style Republicans who while I differ with them on policies and priorities we can agree on basic liberties and civil rights guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill Of Rights, and that we agree on the American Dream, we just have different views on how to get there for everyone. A strong, rational Republican Party and a strong, rational Democratic Party are essential for the health of our Democratic Republic. I do hope we can also have strong and equally electable 3rd and 4th parties who will be viable contenders in future elections as a 2 party system is too polarizing and too tied to corporate lobbyists and career political insiders. I support term limits for all elected and nominated officials to prevent the consolidation of power and entrenchment of individuals in public office. But I object to the radical extremist factions in all parties, and feel balance must be striven for, and no party should allow the takeover from their more extreme segments of their party.
Hopefully the former Republican Party members (who should be fighting for the soul of the party and are instead leaving the party,) can start a brand new party that more closely aligns with their core values, and rejects extremism. It sounds like you haven't found the perfect fit for you, maybe you should connect with other like minded former Republicans and start a party of your own?

"Hopefully the former Republican Party members (who should be fighting for the soul of the party and are instead leaving the party,) can start a brand new party that more closely aligns with their core values, and rejects extremism. It sounds like you haven't found the perfect fit for you, maybe you should connect with other like minded former Republicans and start a party of your own?"

My dear Heather.... did you even read a single word I have written above here in what I now view as - far too many comments saying the same thing - on my part ?????

L I B E R T A R I A N P A R T Y

It took me long enough - but I finally found/got my party of choice.
Have you ??

More importantly, I hope Joel finds/figures out a new path for himself, as he sounds like a real decent human being.

Have a Good Night, I'm out................

No party can control who affiliates with it. (One of the arguments against open primaries is that some might strategically change affiliation to push a party to nominate a candidate who would be less electable in a general election. ) A lot of commentators here criticize the Republican Party for its nomination of Trump and, at limes Stefanowski. Both of them, however, won the nomination through a primary process. The choice of the Republican convention was Boughton, not Stefanowski, and it's highly unlikely that Trump would have won the nomination through other than a primary system. As unpleasant as it may be, Trump brought many new, formerly alienated voters into the Republican Party. I doubt this anti-Trump outflow is greater than the pro-Trump inflow was. Trump is the product of democratic and constitutional processes.