As “not-Republicans”, many of us are bewildered and angered by the fact rank and file Republicans support what the Republican Party has become – a belief system of hate, devoid of science. Many people who were party Democrats for many years have adopted the attitude that they will vote for any Democrat in 2020 because the 45 regime is different from everything else, and must be vanquished, but, they are not so sure about the rest of the Democrats because there are Democrats who cannot be trusted to put country above party either. Many of these folks in Pennsylvania would give up their Democratic registration in a heartbeat if open primaries were enacted.

The story I’m about to tell you is a microcosm of that, and before I begin, I need to state that I am part-owner of this blog. Other than that, I am a private citizen. Therefore, I have First Amendment rights to write what I want here so long as I adhere to the Code of Journalistic Ethics to which my partners and I are committed,  and I do not libel anyone.

Here in Chester County, we have local elections this November. These elections are both countywide (County Commissioner, District Attorney, “Row Offices”) and hyperlocal Boards. For those of you who don’t live around here “Row Offices” are jobs that in many places are filled by people who are hired because of their expertise: like Treasurer, Comptroller, Coroner, etc. Here, they are political positions, even though the work should be devoid of politics. For example, the office headed by the elected “Coroner” evaluates human passing, irrespective of political registration, or lack thereof.

Until 2017, County positions, with one exception, were always held by Republicans, because this was historically a Republican county. The one exception is that there are three County Commissioners, and there were always two Republicans and one Democrat. Two years ago, all four Row Positions were won by Democratic women, and this year, there is a full slate of Democrats taking on the incumbent Republicans.

There is also an overriding issue here in the county called Mariner East. This is a series of pipelines that, instead of carrying fuel, carry fracking by-products headed for Europe for the manufacture of single use plastics. Please read that sentence again – pipelines used NOT for fuel, but to make products that are literally killing Planet Earth. These pipelines are also inherently dangerous, as it’s not a question of whether one will blow up and kill people in the blast zone, but when. There have been tens of thousands of these accidents. This is a partial list.

Voters in Chester County this year are faced with a candidate who has for many years done things to help the pipeline be built. Notice that I am NOT mentioning the name of that candidate, because my goal here is not to out him/her, but rather to bring up a larger point. The point is: what is a voter to do? What is a “good Democrat” to do when one’s choice is to say “I think all Republicans need to be ousted and therefore I will vote Blue no matter what” or to say “There are some issues that override party, and those include protecting life.”? This was a question for many of us last year in the gubernatorial race, as Tom Wolf, the governor, was standing for re-election, and could at any time halt the progression of the pipeline. He has not, and he will not, and so it factored into the decision that a lot of Democratic voters faced in 2018. For a majority of voters (per the election returns) Wolf was the lesser of two evils overall.

The position in question has nothing directly to do with the pipeline. There is nothing he/she can do within that position to further advance the pipeline; it is a Row Position. However, there is a history with this person that indicates actions both overt and opaque which have helped over years to make sure that the pipeline is built, endangering thousands of county residents and visitors, and damaging both public and private property. At what point does a voter think to him/herself: while I care about my party and want to see it do well, there comes a time when I refuse to vote for someone who doesn’t care that people may die because of his/her actions? At what point do we Democrats (and I am a registered Democrat) say that the party needs to align itself with the state values of the party, as espoused in the Party Platform?

How can we demand that Republicans stand up against the crimes of the current regime, if we are unwilling to walk the talk?

For me, it’s a dilemma. While I cannot, and will not, vote for someone who is committed to damaging the environment, and potentially contributing to the death of my friends and neighbors, I am unsure if I actually can mark the box for the Republican. I can, however, leave that line blank. I can also write in the name, if someone would step forward, of an alternative Democrat. But as a lifelong Democrat, I feel it is morally incumbent upon me to hold my party accountable for the people on the ballot. With my one vote, potentially joined by others, to say that within every organization, there are good people and bad people, and I will vote only for the good.