I am disillusioned. Disillusioned with the current state of the Republican Party, and equally unmoved by the Democratic Party, which continues to offer no true alternative. For those of us who still believe in reasoned governance, responsible leadership, and principled cooperation, there is a growing sense of political homelessness.
I consider myself a center-right Republican—not in the performative, reactionary mold that dominates today’s headlines, but in the tradition of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan. These were leaders who understood that conservatism, at its best, is not about resisting progress, but about grounding change in enduring principles. They believed in limited but effective government, individual responsibility, and the necessity of working together—even with opponents—to serve the common good.
This belief in cooperation is not weakness. It is the very foundation of the American experiment. Our Constitution was designed not for a ruling party or ideological purity, but for a system that demands compromise, conversation, and consensus. It’s messy by design, slow by necessity, and successful only when leaders act in service to something greater than themselves.
Yet somewhere along the way, we lost that. We’ve mistaken volume for strength. We’ve rewarded those who divide, rather than those who build. We’ve allowed our political parties to calcify into factions more interested in winning the next election than preserving the republic for the next generation.
The Democratic Party is not the answer. It suffers from its own dogmas and contradictions. And the Republican Party I once believed in—one rooted in character, fiscal responsibility, and a respect for democratic institutions—has drifted into a form I barely recognize.
Still, I believe there’s a way forward. Not by abandoning our beliefs, but by recommitting to our principles. By returning to the idea that patriotism is not allegiance to a party, but a commitment to the people of this country—all of them. By remembering that leadership requires humility, listening, and the courage to tell hard truths, even to those on our own side.
There are more of us out there than we might think—people who are tired of the shouting, who long for something steadier, more decent, more American. We don’t need to agree on everything. But we do need to agree that this country is worth governing with integrity.
And that’s where I choose to stand.
Jim Sullivan 