The Washington Times
Jim Nixon, a retired Army officer and staunch conservative, has voted Republican in every presidential race since Dwight D. Eisenhower topped the ticket.
But not this time. "I've been a lifetime Republican, but that's in the past. No more," Mr. Nixon said.
Like a small but significant cluster of lifelong Republicans, the Tucson, Ariz., resident plans to make a statement by breaking with the Republican Party this year. The reason: He's furious over President Bush's proposal to grant resident status to illegal immigrants, known by critics as his amnesty program.
Not that Mr. Nixon plans to vote for the Democratic candidate, John Kerry.
"Kerry's no good, and Bush isn't good, either," he said. "I'm going to write in a candidate, [Rep.] Tom Tancredo [Colorado Republican]. Because of his stand on immigration."
Call them the anti-Bush Republicans: stalwart conservatives and formerly active Republicans whose anger over the party's tolerance of illegal immigration is prompting them to throw their votes behind write-in candidates, third-party candidates — or no candidate at all.
Posted by Suzanne at August 3, 2004