I'll credit the derision comment to a significant level of immaturity on the part of the author.  That said, how long have you been registered to vote?  In my case, I've been a registered Republican, but not a lock-stepper, since 1968. Capisce?  Good!  A noxious form of conservatism took hold of the Party in the late 1970s, grew to the level of dominance in the 1990s.  It is a form of conservatism I do not care for.  Even Barry Goldwater, a good friend of Edward Kennedy, reached across the isle to find a basis of compromise.  I have no use for the likes of Newt Gingrich or even Ted Cruz.  Why is it that conservative standard-bearers like Gingrich and Cruz speak of family values, yet cheat on their wives?