Bill Weld: A Traditional Republican

by Martha Selph

I came in to tonight’s event, not knowing anything about Republican Presidential candidate Bill Weld, with an open mind. Much to my embarrassment, I even had to google him because I did not recognize his name at first. Weld currently polls at around 2-3%, while President Trump is at about 87%. I can’t imagine how difficult it is to share a stage with someone like Trump who sucks all the air out of the room. If only it was another year and another Republican opposing him, then Weld could actually have a horse in this race to the White House.

Before hearing Weld talk or even reading through his website, I pre-judged him and wrote him off as just another Republican that is one of Trump’s puppets. Unfortunately, in this polarizing political climate, it is more difficult than ever to get out of this mindset that all Republicans are bad and share the same ‘values’ that Trump does. However, once Weld began speaking, I was pleasantly surprised with what he had to say. He began with saying that he was “horrified” at Trump’s election and particularly at the man’s inauguration speech. This took me by surprise since I’ve written off most Republicans as cowards who live in such fear of Trump that they refuse to stand up to him.

Weld also spoke about how he has been a member of the Republican party since he was 18 and was asked about the shift from what it meant to be a Republican back then, to what it does now. He mentioned how during the 2016 race, where he ran as Vice President for candidate Gary Johnson, he labeled himself a Libertarian. The stance Weld takes on many of the hot button issues in 2019 seems to me like this label is still pretty accurate. Like most Libertarians, he preaches that he is progressive on issues like gay marriage and climate change, but conservative when it comes to how the economy should be run. His plans seem moderate and pretty reasonable, although there are still many issues that I am not sure where he stands, such as abortion and immigration. Nonetheless, I was impressed with what he had to say and am glad to know that there are still ‘traditional’ Republicans trying to get their message out and standing up to Trump.