Why I am a Republican, by Louisiana State Senator Elbert Guillory

In his own words

These are some of his reasons for making the decision that was very easy for him to make. In this video, he says that others have called it a "bold decision", but it wasn't very bold for him because he had so many reasons to make the switch. Note: State Senator Guillory mentions race in this video, but because I do not believe in the concept, I will not mention any colors that represent the mythical idea of races.

Click here if you can't see the video

In the order that he mentions them in the video:

1. The Republican Party was founded in 1854 as an abolitionist movement.
2. The Republican Party believes that slavery is a violation of the rights of man.
3. Frederick Douglas called Republicans "the party of freedom and progress".
4. The first Republican President was the author of the Emancipation Proclamation.
5. Republicans in Congress authored the 13th, 14th, and 15th, Amendments to the Constitution, giving former slaves citizenship,voting rights, and due process of law.
6. Democrats were the party of Jim Crow.
7. Democrats defended the rights of slave owners.
8. Republican President Dwight Eisenhower championed the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which was filibustered by Democrats in the Senate.
9. At the heart of liberalism is the idea that only a great and powerful big government can be the benefactor of social justice for all Americans.
10. The left is only concerned with one thing - control, and they disguise this control as charity.
11. The idea that anyone needs the government to get ahead in life is despicable.
12. This idea is a failure.  Our communities are just as poor as they have always been.  Our schools continue to fail children.  Our prisons are filled with young men who should be at home being fathers.
13. Our self-initiative and self-reliance have been sacrificed in exchange for our allegiance to our overseers who control us by making us dependent on them.
14. Sometimes, I wonder if the word "freedom" is tossed around so frequently in our society that it has become a cliché.  Freedom is the idea that the economy must be free of government persuasion, the idea that the press must remain free of government intrusion, and it's the idea that the e-mails and phone records of Americans should remain free from government search and seizure.  It's the idea that parents must be the decision-makers in regards to their children's education, not some government bureaucrat.  Most importantly, it's the idea that the individual must be free to pursue his or her own efforts, free from government dependence and free from government control.  To be truly free is to be reliant on no one, other than the author of our destiny (he pointed to heaven).

"Please join with me in abandoning the government plantation and the party of disappointment, so that we can echo the words of one Republican leader, who famously said,

"Free at last, free at last.  Thank God Almighty, we are free at last".

- Elbert Guillory, who represents Louisiana's 24th District in their State Senate.

His official website.

Biographical information on his website.