There’s something about guys and reminiscing about the crazy things we’ve done as youths.
I’ll never forget a conversation I had with two good friends of mine some years ago. My buddy Dave was sharing a tale of when he had a case of road rage on a country road near his home in Hendersonville, TN. Dave proceeded to smash a guy’s headlights with a crow bar. Another friend in the group, Rob, talked about how he tried to flush a man down the toilet because he asked Rob to dance.
After those anecdotes were shared, both guys looked to me for a story in my sordid past. I thought for a second and then told them how I once accidentally shot a kid in the leg with a .32.
Their eyes got as wide as saucers. “No kidding??!!!” they exclaimed.
“No, not really”, I said. “But it’s a lot more interesting than ‘I voted for Dukakis’.”
Yes, you always remember your first time.
The first time you were eligible to vote in an election, that is (Sheesh. Get your minds out of the gutter).
I have stated many times on this blog that I grew up in an environment where my Mom was indifferent and my Dad was a staunch liberal democrat. Add to that my paternal Grandmother believing that Ronald Reagan and the Republicans were evil incarnate, the choice seemed clear when entering the voting booth in November 1988.
Since then, I have learned my values are more in line with the GOP. While I am among many conservatives unhappy with some congressional Republicans and President Bush for abandoning certain conservative principles (i.e. fiscal responsibility, border security), that doesn’t mean I will sit home on election day. If conservatives don’t like the candidates the GOP has to offer this election cycle, then we need to take that up in the primaries in 2008.
For now, we need to grasp the feeling in our collective guts when we ask ourselves “Which candidates will act in this country’s best interest in this unprecedented war we are fighting?”
2 comments:
Good thoughts, Brad. Yes, I remember my "first time." I was raised a Democrat, but a pro-life Democrat, a species driven to extinction by social liberals who since took over the party. In '84, I bit my lip and voted for Reagan even though I didn't like him. But hey, the alternative was Walter Mon-dull and his David-Bowie-in-drag-looking running mate, so you can't blame a guy for not voting with his party.
Anyway, social conservatives like me were driven from our native habitat to greener pastures and found out life is just better in the GOP.
Regarding your disillusionment with Republicans straying from Republican principles, remember that Election Day is no time for protests. Even if you don't like the choices, the "lesser of two evils" is still a vote for a reduction in evil.
I really look at politics like driving in a race. You know the course you have to drive, and when the scenery isn't as pretty as you'd like it, you know better than to take another road or worse, turn around. The course has not changed. Republican ideals like expanding liberty and free enterprise, reducing government, and defending our country will not be served by people who oppose them. Ideals outlast politics, and I am at my core an idealist.
Regarding your disillusionment with Republicans straying from Republican principles, remember that Election Day is no time for protests. Even if you don't like the choices, the "lesser of two evils" is still a vote for a reduction in evil.
My sentiments exactly! We had our opportunity in the primaries to select the best nominee to represent the GOP. Now it's time to throw our weight behind the candidates who are running on the Republican ticket in the general election.
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