A Republican Georgia state representative warned that if the GOP doesn't back off of its racial animus and rigid anti-LGBT views, the party will bring about its own "extinction."
The Georgia Voice reported that Macon State Rep. Allen Peake told the Atlanta Journal Constitution on Sunday that he is staunchly against a Donald Trump presidency and that the GOP's refusal to budge on its stance on equal rights for the LGBT community, Hispanics and African-Americans will ultimately doom the party with American voters.
The prospect of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the White House, Peake told the Journal-Constitution, "scares the bejeebies out of me." It would, he said, be a "death blow" to the GOP.
Hours after his interview with reporter Greg Bluestein, Peake emailed what he called his "Republican manifesto" to the Journal. In it, he urged the party to turn away from Donald Trump and rethink its identity in a changing world.
"The reality is that Donald Trump as our nominee makes me incredibly fearful for the future of our party. We have alienated Hispanics and African-Americans, both groups who would support us if we stuck to an agenda focused on jobs and the economy. We have made ourselves enemies of the gay community. And from discussions with my gay brother, many would support us, because many are moderate on social issues but fiscally conservative," he wrote.
Peake said that Millennial voters have written off the GOP because of its inflexibility on the topics of marijuana legalization and marriage equality. His brother, Merwin Peake, is openly gay, which he said has influenced his thinking on the issue and made him unable to vote for anti-LGBT legislation with a clean conscience.
Patrick Saunders of the Georgia Voice wrote, "Peake, the champion of medical marijuana legislation, was a co-sponsor of state Rep. Sam Teasley’s (R-Marietta) so-called 'religious freedom' bill in 2015. He later opened up about the difficulties of supporting such bills due to them exposing his brother Merwin Peake to more anti-LGBT discrimination, and cited his brother again earlier this year while trying to work with Gov. Deal and House Speaker David Ralston on the controversial HB757, which passed both chambers of the legislature before being vetoed by Gov. Nathan Deal. Merwin Peake appeared before a House subcommittee in March 2015 to speak out against state Sen. Josh McKoon’s (R-Columbus) controversial 'religious freedom' bill SB129, which later stalled in committee and failed to pass the following year."
