A reader writes to ask me this:
I have been reading your columns for years, and, for the most part, have agreed with what you have written. But, in this case,-if I understand correctly what you seemed to imply-I couldn’t disagree more with what you have written.
It seems to me that you are being sympathetic to both the illegal criminal invaders as well as people who have medical issues.
Please tell me if I have misunderstood what you wrote about these two groups.
I have always believed in being honest about what I think, even if it makes people mad. I am a former lifelong liberal Democrat. I still feel like an old-school liberal in my heart because my choice to leave my party and flip to the Right was never about policy.
I sympathize with people like this reader and others on the Right who have every reason to be angry about illegal immigration and Obamacare. I’m just telling you where I used to stand on the issue and how some of these things still nag at me sometimes, even if I have changed politically. I have never said I was a Conservative.
I am voting as a registered Republican now and plan on doing so for the rest of my life. At the same time, I grew up in Southern California, where Hispanics or immigrants (illegal or otherwise) are the economic backbone. They work in the fields, as nannies, cleaning hotels, cleaning houses, working as gardeners, etc. This has been true my entire life.
But my brother, who is a contractor, told me that he voted for Trump in 2016 because he was being outbid on jobs by illegal immigrants who could offer prices he could not match. That was the first time I began to change my mind on illegal immigration. Now, I am opposed to it and in support of mass deportation.
But a part of me will always feel sympathy for the people I know who have been here for decades. I can't turn off that part of my emotions. I guess I’m just not built that way. I am staunchly opposed to what the Democrats have done with illegal immigration in the Biden era; however, I will continue to support the Republicans.
As far as the healthcare question goes, as I said, I am torn on that question, and I know, as a former Liberal growing up without healthcare, that was the main reason I always knew I’d never vote Republican. So it’s something to think about.
That said, I understand I can’t please everyone all of the time. I lose subscribers every day over something I write that they don’t like. They get angry sometimes, especially paying customers (about 10%). So I would never force anyone to stay subscribed if they don’t like what I write.
And I wish you well.
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Sasha, to thine own self be true. The rest will work itself out.
I'm a conservative Republican and I know I disagree with you sometimes. But that's natural, everybody is not going to agree on everything. What makes your voice so important, I think, is that you were willing to step outside your bubble and see things from another point of view. That is rare. And if this country is to be saved from the worst totalitarian impulses of the Left, we have to hope that there are millions more like you out there.