Opprobrious

So there I was working the cash box at a local fund raiser when my cell phone rings. The chair of the Democratic Party is calling to see if I can go down and support the dude running for US Senate when he is in town on Sunday. Dumb fucker must not have realized he was running in Oklahoma and people are very devout in their dedication to watching freakin football on Sundays! Dumbass.

So there I am trying to be polite when I realize another board member came over to chat with me just as the phone rang. That guy just happens to be the Chair of the Republican party for the county. Really, it's not that big of a deal, there are only 40,000 that live in this county and 90% of them don't give a crap. Still, for a moment there... AWKWARD!!

I get off the phone and visit with the Republican Chair. He's a nice guy and a great man to have on a Board of Directors. He is retired, very active in the community and a great role model. He also just had prostrate cancer and has lots of terrible tales of things Doctors are willing to stick up your ying yang.

But tonight we talked signs. See for years I have been hearing about all of the dirty tricks played by the Republican party. Remember hearing how Clinton's people trashed the Whitehouse and stole all the Ws off the keyboards? The vandalism set the administration back for weeks as they tried to clean up and recreate files. Remember that huge news story from 8 years ago? Did you ever hear that was a hoax? IT WAS!! Years later I heard it on a talk show as a throw away line. What was headline news for several days was reported as a hoax on the back pages of the same newspapers and went mostly unnoticed.

I remember hearing of a woman who put up an Al Gore sign in Tulsa and she was in fear for her life from her neighbors. She said she felt threatened and at risk and her signs were constantly stolen or vandalized. OK I am not going to recite a litany of Republican dirty games, just trust me, there have been many.

So the old Repug Chair and I are talking and I mention I heard a few of his signs were missing. Then I heard this long rant on people playing dirty tricks! Against them! Now I want to be real clear, I do not for a second believe this guy would ever pull any of the dirty unscrupulous tricks associated with Bush, Rove, Cheney or any of those guys. He was just suckered into supporting the wrong team and not bright enough to realize the koolaide he was drinking wasn't the flavor he wanted. In fact, he still isn't sure, but they keep telling him they only serve his kind of koolaide. If you have ever been car shopping at a big dealership, you understand.

You know, that's really a great analogy of the Republican Party. If you go to them and you say you are there for financing, you are treated like a King while they smile and shovel piles of debt into the trunk for you to enjoy with the family once you get home. But if you go to them and tell them you don't want any more from them than a fair deal, they will try to palm off every lemon on the lot, all the time swearing they have exactly what you were looking for when you came in the door.

Are the Democrats any better? I don't know, I don't know if I have ever in my adult life seen a Democratic President in power. Clinton and Carter were hounded by the Republicans. All reports are looking good that at the end of this election the Democrats could control both houses and the Presidency. I guess what we all need to do is go out and get our tickets punched and then see what the koolaide tastes like.