Jeremy Aspen is a successful businessman, lifelong Republican, and a citizen contributor to the Omaha World-Herald editorial board. He recently created a bit of a stir in local political circles when he wrote an editorial saying that after being very active in the party for years, he was switching his affiliation and is now a Democrat.

In full disclosure, I am a good friend of Jeremy’s. Over the years we have had many conversations about our frustration about where the Republican party was going. Personally, I switched my registration to independent years ago. But Jeremy held firm hoping the rest of the party would start to get back to being traditional Republicans again.

For Jeremy, I believe the actions of Donald Trump since he got back in office and the total ineffectiveness of the Republican House and Senate to rein in the craziness was the straw that broke the camels’ back.

To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, Jeremy didn’t leave the Republican Party, the Republican Party left him. He’s still the same guy I’ve known for over a dozen years.

He still believes in free trade and fiscal responsibility. He still believes you can cut the size of government without hurting people or blowing everything up.

And he still believes in decency in democracy.

After his column was published, he was a guest on Scott Voorhees’s radio show. Scott asked him about his thoughts on the Joe Biden presidency. Jeremy answered that he didn’t agree with everything that Biden did but that he believes Biden is a decent man. And he said decency should be the foundation of any leader.

I believe Jeremy to be a decent man. We both share a Catholic School education. Our upbringing taught us to treat immigrants, the LGBTQ community, people of color, and other minorities with respect. Treating people with respect doesn’t mean you are “woke”. It means you are a decent person. A person who believes that in the land of the free, there should be room and opportunity for everyone.

A Channel 6 newscast mentioned Jeremy’s move in a story. They asked him why he registered as a Democrat instead of an independent. He said that he wants to be a catalyst for change and to have the greatest impact, you need to work within the two-party system. He went on to say that, in his opinion, the Democratic party is more likely to work in the middle. While there are extremes on both sides, he feels the Democrats have become less radicalized than the current state of the GOP.

During the interview on the Voorhees show, Scott tried to pigeonhole Jeremy by saying that he changed parties because he doesn’t like Trump. That’s an easy-attack slogan to dismiss a person who doesn’t fall in line with our current president.

But if it were just about Trump, he would have left the party years ago.

It’s not about the personality it’s about the policies. He knows that the on-again, off-again talk about tariffs are going to hurt businesses and cause inflation. Inflation affects everyone but has a greater impact on the poor and those on a fixed income.

He is concerned about the mass firings that the courts are overturning. As a businessman, Jeremy knows that chaos in the workplace leads to poor morale and inefficiency.

He is concerned that this administration will ignore the courts and that the Republicans in the House and Senate will turn a blind eye.

He knows that Canada is not the enemy or the 51st state but rather a valued ally.

It’s these actions and more that made him change political parties, not Trump’s brash personality.

Will this very public switch have any effect? Will he be a moderating force in the Nebraska Democratic party? Will other long-time traditional Republicans follow his lead?

Only time will tell.

Personally, there have been times I have registered as both a Republican or a Democrat. For instance, to vote in primary elections.

Recently, a local GOP leader talked me into registering as a Republican again. He wanted me to be a delegate at the county party convention to keep the extremists out of leadership positions. I did, but they got in anyway.

After the far right took over the Douglas County party, my friend who wanted to keep it more moderate did a 180 and turned MAGA overnight.

Jeremy Aspen couldn’t make that switch, so he left.

As Shakespeare said, “To thine own self be true.”

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.

Opinions expressed by columnists in The Daily Record are not necessarily those of its management or staff, and do not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. Any errors or omissions should be called to our attention so that they may be corrected. Contact us at news@omahadailyrecord.com.