Adam Kinzinger gives me hope for the future of politics. He is the key to finding the middle ground between Republicans and Democrats.
I was sitting in class when Dr. Lambert asked the Sports Writing class if we knew who Adam Kinzinger was. No one answered him.
No one knew who he was.
While the class sat in silence, I looked him up. I immediately saw the word “Republican,” and I aggressively rolled my eyes. Unfortunately, that’s often my response to hearing that someone is a Republican.
I didn’t immediately think Kinzinger was a terrible man just because he was a Republican, but I definitely didn’t think he would be a part of the so-called “good guys.”
Lambert went on to say Kinzinger spoke at the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and that left me speechless.
I started researching him in class and I was surprised. He is one of ten Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, and he was one of two Republicans who sat on the January 6th Committee (the select committee to investigate the January 6th attack). He even endorsed Kamala Harris for the 2024 election.
After reading those facts, I gained some respect for Kinzinger. But my research only led me to respect him even more.
He has faced a tremendous amount of backlash from his party, some of his family members, and friends. Some members of his family went as far as disowning him for attacking Trump.
He got death threats from people, and his young son was even threatened because Kinzinger spoke his mind fearlessly and confidently.
Kinzinger stands for what he believes in, and Donald Trump is not someone he believes in. It takes a huge amount of courage to do what Kinzinger did, and it truly impresses me.
Kinzinger is often called a RINO (Republican In Name Only). He even has “proud RINO” in his X biography. But Kinzinger is not simply a RINO, he does have many strong Republican views.
Even though I respect Kinzinger, I don’t agree with him on many of his stances. He is a Republican after all.
Kinzinger is pro-life, has a rocky voting record with LGBTQ+ rights, voted against the Mental Health Matters Act in 2022 that increased access to mental and behavioral health care, and voted with the Republicans a majority of the time.
He is not our “savior” by any means, but Kinzinger is a symbol of hope. That is why, when I figured out he was coming to Millikin to speak, I was ecstatic.
Kinzinger found a way to put some of his beliefs aside to fight for what is right: democracy. Trump attacked our democracy, and instead of making the easy choice of following his party blindly, Kinzinger loudly spoke out against them.
Kinzinger coming to campus will be a chance for Republican students to hear him out on why he made the decisions he did, and I think that is valuable, especially in this election cycle.
Trump is a controversial man, and the people who are still deciding who to vote for in this election need to make a decision on who to vote for soon. Kinzinger is someone who has the potential to change the minds of people who are undecided on who they are voting for, independents, and maybe even some open-minded Republicans.
Kinzinger coming here is crucial for many students. It will be beneficial for Democrats to hear him as well, not just the Republican and independent people.
Republicans are often demonized and easily hated by the Democrats. Kinzinger will show many people that Republicans are people too, and some of them have the ability to open their eyes and hold politicians accountable for the terrible things they have done.
Kinzinger is not perfect, but he is the small sign of hope America needs right now. The two parties can find a middle ground; it just takes effort and courage.
