Written by Jake Saxbe, 2021

In the 2020 election, several of my friends supported Donald Trump (and still do) while I was for Joe Biden. Heated debates trying to change each other’s minds only produced hard feelings, sadly persisting to this day. Damaged friendships, extreme partisan divisiveness, and the political craziness of the last few years, including the insurrection at the Capitol, prompted me to reflect on my current political views and how they have evolved.

As a kid growing up in Mechanicsburg, I was always going to political gatherings, surrounded by Republicans telling stories about my Dad and Grandfather. When Dad was in the Legislature for eight years, Mom, Sarah, and I accompanied him on the campaign trail, attending dinners, ribbon cuttings, and county fairs. Dad and Grandpa were Republican royalty and were welcomed wherever we went. So when Dad ran for Attorney General in 1982 and lost, I was in disbelief.  I was six years old.

Living in a small town with both parents politically active was particularly unique since Mom was a devoted Democrat. To this day, she inspires me with her life-long activism for the arts, human rights, and good government. She is passionate about standing up for what she believes to be the “right thing.” Dad’s roots were firmly in the Republican Party. Political conversations around the dinner table always held my attention, especially when they turned into lively debates. Sometimes, when I felt rebellious, I would deliberately start an argument with my Mom on controversial subjects. Once I took a particularly conservative stand that triggered a nerve and started a screaming match between us. Later after I thought about what I  said, I apologized.

Dad and Grandpa’s political experiences and success motivated me to pursue my own political activism. I ran for and was elected student body president in high school, volunteered to be Attorney General Betty Montgomery’s driver, joined the Young Republicans in college, and worked summers campaigning for Republicans. During law school at Ohio State, I enrolled in the summer abroad program in Greece and took a class taught by Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia. When he pounded his fist and declared the constitution dead, I agreed with his strict constructionist view and was definitely on a path to becoming a Republican politician. But that was not to be.

The Republican Party is not the party I remember growing up, and certainly not the same as when my Dad and  Grandfather were in politics. The Party’s transformation made me understand that although Dad and Grandpa were loyal Republicans, they were respected more for their reputations for speaking out and doing the right thing, even when it was unpopular or conflicted with the party’s position.

In 1973,  Grandpa’s willingness to resign his Senate seat to become U.S. Attorney General is celebrated almost 50 years later as an example of choosing country over party and personal ambition. In a lengthy segment of her nationally broadcast TV show, Rachel Maddow praised Bill Saxbe as a patriot who courageously stepped forward to lead the Justice Department back to its intended mission after years of abuse and corruption under President Richard Nixon. Today, it would be difficult to find a Republican official who could emulate my Grandfather.

My youthful rants at Mom while searching for answers were unproductive and simply one-way conversations. The arguments with my Trumpist friends were vain attempts to persuade the unpersuadable. These dead-end conversations accomplished nothing, similar to what’s going on in Washington today.

I’ve come to understand that party identification and blind loyalty to a candidate can’t be the principal factors in solving problems. Good government depends on people like Dad and Grandpa, who sought solutions through communication, cooperation, and working across the aisle. In the end, as Mom insists,  it’s about standing up and doing the right thing and not about what side of the political fence you’re on.  My roots are based on this very principle.