Joe Schwarz left the Republican Party

Former Representative Joe Schwarz left the Republican party and became an Independent recently. For those that don’t remember, Schwarz was the Representative for the area surrounding Battle Creek, Michigan. In 2006, he lost his primary election to Tim Wahlberg. Tim Wahlberg went on to win the House seat.

Schwarz was a one term Representative. He ran as a conservative, but governed as a liberal. I voted for Schwarz in 2004. During his campaign he called himself conservative, saying that he was for lower taxes and other conservative issues. He talked the talk. Unfortunately, during his two years, he didn’t walk the walk. He voted for tax increases. He voted against the family by choosing on the side of same sex marriage and joined the Democrats in other issues.

In 2006, if he ran unopposed, I was not going to vote for him. I would have voted for the other issues on the ballot but left my vote blank for that seat had he been the nominee. In effect, I was saying ‘you did a poor job and you’re fired’. Luckily, Tim Wahlberg was running for his seat and he too claimed to be a Conservative. This presented a problem. I had already voted for Schwarz based on his words two years earlier and got a wolf in sheeps clothing. My decision came down to, I can’t trust Schwarz, I don’t know if I can trust Wahlberg. Having voted for one that claimed to be conservative, how did I know I’d get a conservative this time? My decision came down to this answer. I couldn’t. However, I knew Schwarz to be a liberal and I couldn’t vote for him. If I made the same mistake with Wahlberg, I could vote against him in two years. I hadn’t lost anything, and hopefully, I’ll actually gain a conservative.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one thinking that way. As it turned out, Joe Schwarz was one of only two incumbents that were voted out in the primaries. The other was Cynthia McKinney from Georgia. Do you remember her? She’s the liberal that slapped a DC cop because she didn’t feel she should have to show her ID to get into the Capitol building. Good company for Schwarz to be in.

Now in a Detroit News editorial, they show comments from Schwarz that Republicans are not open to ideas so he’s given up his membership in the Republican party and gone independent.

Former Representative Schwarz apparently doesn’t get it. The people voted him out. Not the Republican party. The PEOPLE IN HIS DISTRICT. He failed the people of his district and they said goodbye to him.

I vote conservative. I’m even more adamant about that now than in the past. I don’t like to settle for second best. Joe Schwarz independence is not independent. He’s liberal. He may be a right wing liberal by Democrat standards, but since the Democrat Party has gone liberal, and he’s chosen to join with the Democrats in nearly all of his positions, that to me, makes him a liberal. I have no more tolerance for liberals with my ballot.
Joe Schwarz is whining that Republicans don’t want him. He’s wrong. Republicans want him. Conservatives however, don’t want him representing them. When a politician loses and says it’s the Republican’s fault I can only play the part of the psychobabblists and say that he’s in denial.

The House and Senate Democrats in Washington say that they need to get rid of President Bush and his policies, that they are all wrong for America. What they are saying is that 52% of the people in this country were wrong in the last election. That they don’t know what they’re doing.

They are completely ignoring the people of this country who elected George Bush to be President. They are in effect saying that the people of this country are stupid. Joe Schwarz is saying that the people of his district are intolerant and not open to new ideas.

Former Representative Joe Schwarz, you’re wrong. I’m open to new ideas and I’m very tolerant. What I am not open to is the same old liberal ideas that have failed over and over for years. What I am intolerant of is, is politicians that think they know what’s best for the American people in spite of those people’s statements of their desires as stated in their votes.

Former Representative Joe Schwarz, you’re wrong. You were voted out because you offered the same old ideas from the left while telling everyone you were conservative. In other words Former Representative Joe Schwarz, you lied to your constituents and paid the price by losing your seat. It’s been a year and a half and your successor has been doing a good job and not disappointing his constituents and not lying to his constituents. I think it’s time you got over yourself.

I do wish you well with your new Independent status. I’m sure that it will get you several appearances on the Tim Skubick show, but as you probably should have learned by now, being popular in the liberal press isn’t the same as serving your constituents.

Brett