Like Crist, I switched

Political conversion is like divorce, you don’t expect to ever do it — until it hits you that it’s time to do it.

Politics hooked me young as my hometown GOP elders took me under their right wings. One year’s hot-button issue was having primaries instead of convention nominations. The elders spoke against primaries — expensive, tough to organize, exposes us to the press and to riffraff…

Elders carefully drilled us convention delegates on the primary issue, but at voting time, I only remembered their word “riffraff.” Only two others and I from our large delegation stood up for primaries. I soon lost my taste for politics, found a South Florida job offer, and moved.

I already objected to the party’s hatred and intolerance, and Miami’s tolerance provided me with other points of view and opinions to examine and consider. Like Crist, I eventually switched parties. Intelligent, open-minded citizens change our minds on issues as our conscience evolves. Intelligent, open-minded politicians will too.

This story was originally published September 19, 2014 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Like Crist, I switched."