The chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Massachusetts endorsed Barack Obama late Sunday night, joining other Republicans who have recently moved away from their party's own standard bearer, John McCain.

[img_assist|nid=227|title=U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.)|desc=|link=none|url=undefined|align=right|width=123|height=154]Jason Burkins, who is also a member of the Somerville Ward 5 Republican Committee, said in an email that he no longer sees eye-to-eye with the principles of the national GOP.

"Though I have always disagreed with the party on various issues, I have always been able to find more common ground with my fellow GOP brethren than with the Democrat Party," he said. "Since the election of George W. Bush as president, over the past eight years, that common ground has slipped and dwindled."

In particular, Burkins said, the Republican Party has focused on social issues instead of its original principles of small government.

"I have watched as the evangelical wing of the party has taken control, focusing less on efficient, un-obstructive government and more on issues such as banning gay marriage, teaching creationism and spying on America's citizenry," he said.

[img_assist|nid=228|title=U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)|desc=|link=none|url=undefined|align=left|width=128|height=162]With his statement, Burkins joined a growing chorus of Republicans that have either broken with or criticized the McCain campaign. Most notably, former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama on Meet the Press on Sunday, criticizing the McCain camp for narrowing the scope of the GOP.

Burkins repeatedly praises McCain and says he wishes the GOP had nominated him in 2000 over George W. Bush. However, Burkins also criticizes McCain for how he has conducted his current campaign.

Burkins said the national party "needs to open the tent and grow or else it is going wilt and die and be replaced by a new political movement that is more libertarian/conservative."

Burkins also lambasted McCain for selecting Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, which he called a political ploy.

"In an effort to pander to the female vote and the religious right, he picked a vice presidential candidate with little experience and baffling views on the role of government in the lives of its citizens, the role of religion in education and the role of mankind in the global climate situation," Burkins wrote. "There is something seriously wrong when the evangelicals are excited by a candidate that to everyone else has become a punch line."

Ultimately, Burkins said that while he disagrees with Obama on several issues, he believes the Illinois Democrat has a grasp of the right issues facing the country right now.

"I disagree with Barack Obama a whole lot, most notably his insistence on putting a time table on victory in Iraq and his class warfare tax policy," he said. "However I believe he has a better grasp of the economic crisis and what it will take to recover and heal our economy. I believe he will put a screaming halt to the systematic assaults on our civil liberty and he will be much more effective at working toward a balanced budget."