As a former lifelong Republican, it pains me to tell you that today's Republicans - and their standard-bearers, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan - just aren't up to the task. They're beholden to 'my way or the highway' bullies, indebted to billionaires who bankroll ads and allergic to the very idea of compromise.

I'm pro-life. I'm pro-gun. I'm pro-family. And I'm pro-business.

Can you even imagine not hugging?

I was a Republican and I saw the activists and what they were doing, it was intolerable to me.

I'm not a scientist either, but I can use my brain, and I can talk to one.

I'm a conservative, and I'm a compassionate conservative. And I think it's important that Florida continues to move in that direction.

I didn't leave the Republican Party. It left me.