I Personally Witnessed How the GOP Went from Secular to "White Christians only" Party in last 15 years

I ran in GOP primaries 15 years ago, starting in 2000. So I have personally seen it from the inside versus what it is today.  I can also compare that to today's Democrats since I ran in the 2014 Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate.

My goal in 2000 was to get rid of Tom DeLay, an arrogant powerful tyrant and then Majority Whip (later Leader) who controlled my district at the time.  Since Democrats had been gerrymandered into only 1/3 of the vote in CD22, I did the one thing that would put the fear of god into him. I "primary-ed" DeLay. It was my best shot at winning when you are playing in a crooked casino.

I ran in his party's primary, meaning I would need a small number of votes to actually win.  In the process I got to meet a lot of Republicans in one of the most diverse counties in America, Ft. Bend.  There was even a "Republican Muslim" caucus. Many who called themselves "conservatives" stuck me as moderates - about 25% of the primary (because they were the votes I got).

So, unlike many people, I have personally witnessed the change in the Republican party since then, having "been there, done that."

And its shocking.

The GOP was conservative then, but it still had a secular vision.  No more.  The "Republican Muslim" caucus is not hiding under the table. The meetings are usually 98% whites. At a Trump rally whites even beat a black protester instead of merely escorting him out the door. Senator rubio said that between his god and the Constitution that his god would control!  That's pretty radical - and what it take sin a GOP primary these days. The more crazy stuff you say the better.

When I ran in the Democratic party primary in 2014, the meetings were a true mix of whites, hispanics, blacks, asians, muslims, gays, etc. It looked like the America I know from my many travels across this great country and around the world.

 From the comments on the GOP campaign trail I see it has become the "white 'Christians' only" party. The language is brutal even in "code" words which Trump uses openly. Its the same attitude. It's not Christian as I experienced it.  Basically the GOP primary voters have become an American version of ISIS -they are intolerant and hate anyone who is not in their religion.

Note that I said "primary voters" not all Republicans.  Because in my "tilting at windmills" run against DeLay I did discover a lot of moderate, kind, caring, truly nice people. They voted for me, many sight unseen. That stunned me, and gave me new awareness of the reality.

But the party has changed in dangerous and crude ways that threaten not only what America is about, but its own future existence.

Like ISIS, who is hating everyone who doesn't believe as they do--even attacking (and killing) more Muslims than anyone, the GOP is doing the same intolerant thing in a world with dozens of religions, a world that is 5% white. (They also make it worse by blaming the poor while giving more special breaks to the 1%.) So its pretty ignorant and not even strategically smart. It gets votes from bigots based on fear. Its Fox phony news and right wing commentators flood the airwaves with false facts. That makes for stupid decisions.

I wrote about what I saw then in a chapter entitled "Predicting 911 and Running Against the Hammer" in "Better Times Ahead April Fool."

The only party that reflects America's diversity and human values of openness of all people regardless of race, sex, religion is today's Democratic Party.  We really need the GOP to go back to the likes of a George HW Bush instead of today's Cruz's and Trumps.

We need a real Agenda for American Greatness, which has been updated to 2015 at the link.