Exactly the reasons I left the Republican Party. I could not longer associate with a party that pandered to the religious right. Because of their antics, we are a laughingstock. I am a scientist, an atheist, a veteran, an educator, and an “assault-rifle” owner, so I don’t neatly fit into any political parties’ core supporters. But if the Republican Party hopes to recapture my interest, they need to return to their core values and tell the religious right to go start their own political party.