Attorney/Donor Jacob Monty Quits “The Party of QAnon”—So Have Thousands of Others February 2, 2021
It’s political game show time and anyone is welcome to play. What person and ideologies come to mind when someone says “GOP?” Teddy Roosevelt?—No way. “I like Ike?”—Who was he? Anti-communism, laissez-faire economics, & fiscal responsibility?—Huh? Donald Trump, QAnon, and Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene? “Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding!” You’ve hit the jackpot. Go collect $10,000 or decide if you want to continue playing for higher stakes.
In all seriousness, the modern-day herd of GOP elephants is in stampede mode. They’re headed toward jumping off a suicidal political cliff egged on by their super-crazy plus base. Although Demagogue/Capitol riot inciter Donald now lives in FL’s Mar-a-Lago, House GOP Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) makes a pilgrimage there. He scrapes and bows at Donald’s feet hoping to plan a “Team Red” House restoration in midterm election 2022. Yes, Sen. GOP leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) finally condemned the Capitol rioters for trying to stop the congressional approval of the Electoral College tally that gave Biden his 11/2020 win. McConnell privately told colleagues that he thought Trump deserved to be impeached (nytimes.com, 2/01/21, Russonello). That, however, was so yesterday. McConnell is back riding the Trump rails. Witness Mitch’s recent 1/26/2021 vote, led by his fellow KY GOP Senator Rand Paul, to dismiss Trump’s Senate impeachment trial. Only five GOP Senators joined the Dems in defeating this absurd motion. While a recent Monmouth University Poll gives President Biden a 90% rating among his fellow Democrats and a 17% approval margin among independents, 70% of Republicans disapprove of POTUS 46. Only 15% of that party approve of Biden (nytimes.com, Russonello). Why be surprised? Donald’s “cult of personality” remains high among rank-and-file GOPers who continue to be fed constant pro-Trump propaganda in their alternate universe via Fox and talk/hate radio IV’s. In order to regain power, now Senate Minority Leader McConnell cares about nothing more than being a lackey to his fanatic base.
Biden may be facing a GOP wall of opposition, but it’s a smaller one than it once might have been. True, Donald has completely taken over the GOP. However, his crudeness, constant conspiracy talk, and incitement of the 1/06/2021 fatal Capitol riot, Trump has driven away a significant share of the GOP base. This defecting GOP base is not inconsequential. It is mainly composed of white voters with college degrees (nytimes.com, Russonello, 2/01/21). One of these influential former GOPers who left “Team Red” and became a Democrat is a former donor who raised millions for the GOP (cnn.com). Meet Houston, TX attorney Jacob Monty (huffpost.com, Moran, L., 1/30/21).
On CNN’s 1/29/2021 “OutFront” broadcast, Monty told host Erin Burnett, “I’m out of the Republican Party.” Monty stated that the U.S. Capitol riot which killed five people that Trump incited was a “bridge too far for me (huffpost.com, Moran, L., 1/30/21).” Monty voted for Biden in 2020. Burnett asked him if the GOP was now more the party of unhinged QAnon conspiracy theory than of conservatives like himself. Monty’s reply, “Absolutely. Trump owns the party and Trump has always loved the conspiracy theories and this is Trump’s party now.” Monty added, “I tried for four years to be a ‘Never Trumper’ in the Republican Party but it’s obvious now, everyone is paying homage to this ex-president. No one will stand up to him (huffpost.com, Moran, L., 1/30/21).”
Monty is absolutely right about QAnon influence in the GOP. Too many GOPers are “in a bind” about condemning wacko QAnon supporter Cong. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). QAnon members participated in the 1/06/2021 Capitol assault. GOP “leadership” put first-term Taylor Greene on the powerhouse House Education and Labor and Budget Committees. Taylor Greene’s “beliefs” include that various school shooting massacres were false flag operations to push gun control, that a space laser controlled by the Jewish Rothschild banking family caused CA wildfires, that no plane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, and that Trump won the 11/2020 election. Before she won election, Taylor Greene also expressed support of social media calls to execute high-profile Democrats including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (latimes.com, 2/01/21, Jarvie, J., nytimes.com, 1/31/21, Editorial). Democrats are currently pushing a motion to strip Taylor Greene of her committees, if the GOP does not act to remove her quickly (cnn.com, Zaslav, Fox, & Raju, 2/02/21).
Before the 2016 election, Monty served on Trump’s Hispanic Advisory Council until Donald delivered a “combative, red meat nativist stemwinder” campaign speech against immigration. Like many GOPers, and, in fact, many Americans in general, Monty held out hope that Trump would become a “normal” Chief Executive after defeating Hillary. Monty and millions of his fellow Americans were badly disappointed by Trump’s subsequent lying and toddler-like behavior, unbefitting the office of the Presidency (See huffpost.com, Moran, L.)
Monty, an immigration attorney, who campaigns for immigration reform, admitted that he didn’t agree with everything the Democrats stand for. However, he added, “That’s the big-tent party, the Democratic Party is the party that has more diversity of opinion. If you stay in the Republican Party, you have to pay homage to Trump and I don’t do that, I don’t pray to any man (huffpost.com, Moran, L., 1/30/21).” Spot, on Mr. Monty. As I previously stated in my 9/13/2020 blogpost profiling now MA Democratic first-term Cong. Jake Auchincloss, Democrats have racial, ethnic, religious, and sexual diversity as well as many different opinions. “Team Blue” has always been the “big tent” party, despite GOPers, like the late campaign consultant Lee Atwater, trying to falsely claim the the “big tent” mantle for the GOP. GOPers, IMHO, are the “little tent” for the economic top 1% and the extremist social and religious zealots.
Monty’s comments to Burnett were similar to those he published in a recent Houston Chronicle op-ed. In that piece, Monty stated that “watching thousands of Trump supporters invade the Capitol literally brought tears to my eyes.” Monty noted in this editorial that “as a descendant of immigrants, I revere the United States Capitol and all it stands for. To see it desecrated—at the urging of a Republican President—broke my heart.” Monty strongly criticized his own Senator Ted Cruz. Monty wrote, “Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), with his promotion of Trump’s election fraud lies and efforts to overturn the result might as well have joined the insurrectionists in smashing the windows and rampaging through the Capitol.” Monty stated that there was “no way that he could convince millions of American citizens (GOPers) of the rightness of comprehensive immigration reform. There is simply no room for me in the GOP any longer (huffpost.com, Moran, L., 1/30/21).”
El Paso, TX native Jacob Monty (53) is not an obscure attorney recently admitted to the TX Bar. He received a 1991 undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Arlington and a 1993 law degree from the University of Houston Law Center. He has practiced law for over two decades. He founded the firm Monty & Ramirez LLP to offer an integrated approach to dealing with Hispanic workforces, and he and is partners are bilingual in English and Spanish. He and his firm have been involved with immigration and union matters, workplace safety, and employment disputes. His clients include professional baseball teams, including the New York Yankees, whom he has advised for over a decade on immigration matters. He has represented grocery store chains, chain restaurants, and leading companies in the construction field. Monty has a nationwide practice in courts in TX, CA, NY, IL, FL, GA, and AL (prabook.com, montyramirezlaw.com). He has written books on employment and labor law involving Hispanics. Monty has been interviewed by major media outlets such as Fox, CNN, and MSNBC over national immigration concerns (montyramirezlaw.com). He has been appointed to the University of Houston Board of Regents and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board as well as the North American Development Bank. Monty is Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization (montyramirezlaw.com). When Republicans lose a supporter such as Monty to the Democrats, they should understand that they have a serious problem.
And Monty is not the only GOPer who has left that party. Hard numbers corroborate the recent Monmouth polling showing defecting “Team Red” voters. In the weeks following the 1/06/2021 insurrection/attempted Trump coup at the U.S. Capitol, more than 30,000 Republican voters have quit that party (newsweek.com, Slisco, A., 1/27/21). This constitutes far more GOPers than Democrats who have left their party. Changing party registration usually occurs before primary elections, so people can participate in these contests. According to University of FL voting and elections expert Michael McDonald, the people switching party registrations now are not doing it to get involved in upcoming primaries. In McDonald’s words, the people taking this “proactive step to change their registration are likely to be well-informed voters who both follow the news and are aware of the process by which they would change their actual registration. These people who are doing this activity, they are likely very sophisticated voters. They’re highly participatory… If you’re sophisticated enough to change your party registration, you’re somebody who’s likely to vote (thehill.com, Wilson, R., 1/27/21).” Some of the data suggests the GOP exodus is happening in the suburban counties where GOP candidates and Trump struggled so much in the 2018 and 2020 elections (Wilson, thehill.com).
Nearly 10,000 PA voters dropped out of the GOP in the first 25 days of 2021. About 1/3 of them, 3,476, registered as Democrats, the remaining 2/3 opted to register with another party or without any party affiliation. Almost 6,000 N. Carolina voters dropped their GOP affiliation. Nearly 5,000 Arizona voters are no longer registered GOPers. In the last few weeks, Colorado defectors from the GOP came in at more than 4,500. In Maryland, 2,300 GOPers are now either unaffiliated or have registered as Democrats. In FL, local election officials reported a surge in registration changes. These included two Miami area counties where a combined 1,000 GOPers registered under other labels just two days after the Capitol assault. In the Tampa Bay area, around the same time, more than 2,000 GOPers registered under some other party’s banner (thehill.com, Wilson, 1/27/21). Only a small handful of states report voter registration data on a weekly basis. Others report monthly activity in voter registration changes, and many states do not report party registration data. Once more states report party registration data, the true amount of GOPers who have re-registered recently may prove to be much higher (thehill.com, Wilson). True, compared to the millions of registered GOP voters, these changes are small and most Republicans still strongly support Trump. However, the voters leaving the GOP after Trump’s Capitol coup attempt are coming from swing states that often determine who wins Congress and the White House (newsweek.com, Slisco, 1/27/21, thehill.com, Wilson, 1/27/21). And the GOP defections “keep on coming.” At least 60 former officials who worked in “W” Bush’s administration are planning to leave the GOP because of the Capitol riot and that party’s cult-like embrace of Trump and his extremist allies. Rosario Martin, a former U.S. Treasury official stated, “Unless the Senate convicts him, and rids themselves of the Trump cancer, many of us will not be going back to vote for Republican leaders (Reuters, thehill.com, Bowden, J., 2/01/21).”
GOP defections like Monty’s look promising for Democrats. Elections, however, are only won at the polls, not by voter registration figures. Voters, including our Democratic base, will come out in droves plus in midterm 2022 to add to our thin House and Senate majorities only if Biden quickly delivers on COVID-19 aid and his other major promises. Democrats, must, therefore, pass ASAP Biden’s stimulus relief package via the filibuster proof reconciliation procedure to keep “Team Blue” an expanding “big tent.”