Here is a list of Republicans who have come out “FOR” Obama and/or “AGAINST” Palin and McCain.
This is not a complete list either! – but it is, I think , very impressive! When you have individuals from
these ‘royal’ Republican families endorsing Obama, it amazes me! Goldwater, Buckley, Eisenhower, Nixon
And all these Republican politicians and columnists… I am very proud of these people because
whatever happens in this election, we all must remember, we are Americans first (and party affiliation should not bitterly divide us)
Here’s the list we already had, and this site helped tremendously with additional information.
1. Colin Powell secretary of state during President Bush‘s first term and has a 35-year military career including service as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under two presidents, and as national security adviser to Ronald Reagan. Powell, also served two tours in Vietnam.
2. Ken Adelman – hard right security official in Reagan and Bush years – endorsed Obama because McCain and Palin have proven to be woefully inadequate for protecting America.
3. Kenneth Duberstein, who worked for President Ronald Reagan abandoned McCain. He said: “Well let’s put it this way — I think Colin Powell’s decision is in fact the Good Housekeeping seal of approval on Barack Obama,” Duberstein said. Powell was national security advisor to Reagan when Duberstein’ was the President’s chief of staff.
4 . John Ensign Republican Sen. from Nevada says Sarah Palin is not experienced enough to be president and John McCain’s presidential campaign “completely mishandled” her early days on the ticket.
5. Lawrence Eagleburger — Former secretary of state and supporter of Republican presidential nominee John McCain says that McCain’s running mate, Sarah Palin, isnﾒt up to the task of taking over the presidency
6. Lincoln Chafee, a former Republican Senator from Rhode Island, endorsed Senator Barack Obamaﾒs presidential candidacy.
7. Jim Leach – Former U.S. Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa, gave a speech at the Democratic convention.
8. Linwood Holton Virginiaﾒs first modern Republican governor in office from 1970 to 1974, endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and will campaign for him
9. William Weld – – Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld – a Republican, endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president on Friday, citing the senator‘s good judgment,”deep sense of calm” and “first-class political temperament.” Weld said heﾒs never endorsed a Democrat for president before, but in the last six weeks or so, it became “close to a no-brainer.” Obama has a history of bringing Democrats, Republicans and independents together and is the best choice at a time when America‘s standing in the world is at a low point, he said. “Itﾒs not often you get a guy with his combination of qualities, chief among which I would say is the deep sense of calm he displays, and I think that‘s a product of his equally deep intelligence,” he said in a phone interview.
10. Arne Carlson – Former Minnesota Republican Gov. Arne Carlson endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama The former governor said Obama represented the best hope for an America facing an economic crisis.
11. Richard Riordan – from LA Times: Former L.A. mayor, Republican Richard Riordan backs Barack Obama
12. Bill Ruckelshaus, who served in both the Nixon and Reagan administrations, announced that he is supporting Democrat Barack Obama for president. Ruckelshaus was appointed as the first chief of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970 by President Nixon. In 1973, he was appointed acting director of the FBI and later named deputy U.S. attorney general. In an event known as the “Saturday Night Massacre,” Ruckelshaus and his boss, Elliot Richardson, famously resigned rather than obey an order from Nixon to fire the Watergate special prosecutor, Archibald Cox. In 1983, Ruckelshaus was appointed interim director of the EPA by President Reagan. At CNN, he was quoted as saying: “Senator Obama‘s ability to attract not only Democrats, but also Republicans and Independents, makes him uniquely qualified to build the broad coalitions needed to address our nationﾒs challenges.“
13. Chuck Hagel Republican Senator was an early critic of Palin
14. Barbara Lorman – Longtime Wisconsin Republican State Senator Barbara Lorman of Fort Atkinson announced on Tuesday that she would be supporting Barack Obama Lorman said her decision was based in part because of the negative tone of the McCain-Palin campaign and, specifically, the use of “dishonorable” anti-Obama robocalls. She left the Senate in 1994 and, until recently, was the longest woman serving senator in Wisconsin history. She said, “While my admiration for Senator Obama has grown with his positive approach to addressing the challenges facing our nation, my disappointment with the McCain campaigned has deepened. The negative tactics are inappropriate, downright dishonorable and have no place in the State of Wisconsin.” “I‘m a lifelong Republican, but Senator Obama is the right leader for our country and will deliver the change we need,” Lorman said in a statement released by the state‘s Democratic Party. “After taking a careful look at the qualities of both McCain and Obama and who would be best for our country, I found that Senator Obama‘s ability to bridge the partisan divide to work toward solid solutions that will get our nation back on the right track meant he is the right choice this November.“
15. Lilibet Hagel, the wife of GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel, endorsed Obama
16. Charles Fried, Former Endorser and Adviser to John McCain
17. Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. – Former Republican senator and Connecticut independent Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr.Weicker says the Illinois Democrat “has the smarts, quite frankly, to do a damn good job.” “At issue is not the partisan politics of two parties, rather the image we have of ourselves as Americans. Senator Obama brings wisdom, kindness, and common sense to what is both his and our quest for a better America.“
18. Larry Pressler – Former Sen. Larry Pressler (R-S.D.), who was the first Vietnam veteran to serve in the United States Senate, is the latest Republican to back Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign,
19. Wayne Gilcrest – Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, a maverick Republican from Maryland, endorsed Illinois Democratic Sen. Barack Obama for president in an interview Wednesday with WYPR, Baltimore’s National Public Radio station.
20. Scott McClellan former George Bush press Secretary
21. Joel Haugen, a Republican fighting for congressional seat in Oregon tries to rescue his failed campaign by endorsing Obama
22. Susan Eisenhower backs Obama. She wrote in the Washington Post “this lifelong Republican will work to get him elected and encourage him to seek strategic solutions to meet America‘s greatest challenges”. Susan Eisenhower, granddaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and a self-described “lifelong Republican,” penned an op-ed in February in The Washington Post (“Why Iﾒm Backing Obama“). Eisenhower is president of the Eisenhower Group, which provides strategic counsel on political, business and public affairs projects. She also spoke at the Democratic convention.
23. Julie Nixon Eisenhower. – Ms. Eisenhower, one of two daughters of President Richard M. Nixon and his wife, Pat, made the maximum $2.300 contribution to Mr. Obama. Ms. Eisenhower married Dwight David Eisenhower II, the grandson of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. She wrote a biography of her mother and is active in civic causes in the Philadelphia area, has given sporadically over the years to Republican candidates and committees, according to campaign finance records. She gave $1,000 to President Bush and another $1,000 to the Republican National Committee, for instance, in the 2004 election cycle. In the 2000 presidential race, she donated $1,000 to Senator John McCainﾒs unsuccessful run.
24. Matthew Dowd, a former Bush strategist (says Palin is not ready and she puts country at risk)
25. CC Goldwater, granddaughter of conservative icon Barry Goldwater: Myself, along with my siblings and a few cousins, will not be supporting the Republican presidential candidates this year “My grandfather (Paka) would never suggest denying a woman‘s right to choose. My grandmother co-founded Planned Parenthood in Arizona in the 1930‘s, a cause my grandfather supported” Paka respected our civil liberties and passed on the message that that we should conduct our lives standing up for the basic freedoms we hold so dear“Nothing about McCain, except for maybe a uniform, compares to the same ideology of what Goldwater stood for as a politician. The McCain/Palin plan is to appear diverse and inclusive, using women and minorities to push an agenda that makes us all financially vulnerable, fearful, and less safe” Nothing about the Republican ticket offers the hope America needs to regain it‘s standing in the world, that’s why we‘re going to support Barack Obama. I think that Obama has shown his ability and integrity.After the last eight years, there‘s a lot of clean up do. Roll up your sleeves, Senators Obama and Biden, and we Goldwaters will roll ours up with you.
26. Michael Smerconish is a life-long Republican Philadelphia radio talk show host.
27. Christopher Hitchens endorsed Barack Obama on Slate on Monday, calling Palin‘s conduct “a national disgrace”
28. Christopher Buckley, son of William F. Buckley (godfather of the modern American conservative movement) endorsed Obama on The Daily Beast, writing of McCain‘s embrace of Palin: “What on earth can he have been thinking?”
29. Kathleen Parker, prominent conservative National Review columnist wrote against Palin.
30. William Kristol, said McCain should fire his campaign for malpractice.
31. David Brooks, speaking at an Atlantic Magazine event, called Palin “a fatal cancer to the Republican Party.”
32. David Frum said “Ms. Palinﾒs experience in government makes Barack Obama look like George C. Marshal” and “It’s not nearly so clear that she is a responsible pick, or a wise one.“
33. Ross Douthat author
34. George Will columnist
35. Charles Krauthammer author
36. Elizabeth Drew (author of “Citizen McCain” Simon & Schuster, 2002);
37. Douglas Kmiec, a professor at the Pepperdine University School of Law who was co-chairman of Mitt Romney‘s presidential campaignﾒs Committee for the Courts and the Constitution; worked in the Reagan Justice Department (sharing an office with Samuel Alito).
38. Dennis Hopper (actor) is one of the few publicly avowed Republicans in Hollywood who endorsed Obama.–“I voted for Bush, father and son, but this time I‘ll vote for Obama. I was the first person in my family to have been Republican,” he added. “For most of my life I wasn‘t on the left.” “I pray God, Barack Obama is elected,” he said, criticising the current administration‘s many “lies.“
Newspapers: Republican Papers Endorse Obama
Editor & Publisher, a journal covering the newspaper industry for over a century and tallies newspaper endorsements in national elections. They report:
Newspaper Endorsements: Obama Leads 240-114 (10/31/2008 total from ongoing tally)
In 2004, John Kerry edged George W. Bush in endorsements by 213 to 205
E&P updates this number intra-day at the link above
And a Google map with news endorsements plotted here.
Sunday, 11/2/2008 update here without a running tally. But they note at “The Final Indignity” that Dick Cheneyﾒs hometown paper, the reliably Republican daily in Casper, Wyoming, the Star-Tribune, endorsed Obama this morning despite Darth Vader‘s recent stab at McCain. Also, the leading daily newspaper in McCainﾒ’ home state of Arizona endorsed Obama!
The readership of the daily newspapers backing Obama is at 21.6 million while McCain‘s is 7.3 million. These totals DO NOT include weekly and college newspapers which are going for Obama by a current count of 83-16.
A separate tally of college newspapers endorses Obama by the count of 79 to 1 over McCain!
E&P identifies newspapers who have never endorsed a Republican presidential candidate before (such as Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune), and boat loads of papers who had endorsed George Bush in 2000 and 2004.
At least 50 newspapers that backed George W. Bush in 2004 have switched parties and now support Obama. Four newspapers which endorsed Kerry switched parties to McCain this year (11/2 update said “about half a dozen“ Kerry endorsers switched to McCain).
“Obama’s lopsided margin, including most of the major papers that have decided so far, is in stark contrast to John Kerry barely edging George W. Bush in endorsements in 2004 by 213 to 205.“
Like Powell, many of the newspapers and conservatives endorsing Obama or voicing reservations about McPalin point specifically at the gimmick of picking a vice-presidential candidate that was woefully unable to even campaign effectively, much less serve as Vice President or, god forbid, President. (See Pew Polling and the VP Debate: Palin‘s Already Shot Herself in the Mouth)
DailyKos has a roundup of such concerns here. For a favor, I‘ll quote just one, from the rock ribbed Republican endorsing paper from Enronﾒs former home base, the Houston Chronicle:
- Perhaps the worst mistake McCain made in his campaign for the White House was the choice of the inexperienced and inflammatory Palin as his vice-presidential running mate. Had he selected a moderate, experienced Republican lawmaker such as Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison with a strong appeal to independents, the Chronicle‘s choice for an endorsement would have been far more difficult.
McCain Sucks, Palin Sucks = No Bush left behind 
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