I Heard It On NPR

I rode home on a relatively typical commute – one that takes no more than a half hour. It really shouldn’t be called a commute. I only live 15 miles from where I work. And I’m lucky that the BART train keeps the traffic down on my route. So I can have a leisurely ride most days and listen to the radio. Today was one of those days.

But it wasn’t leisurely despite the mild traffic. NPR was interviewing Republicans in the middle states where campaigning, or pseudo campaigning for undeclared candidates, has been going on. It’s important to note that when this decade began I wasn’t anti-Republican. I was one of the Reagan Democrats, and proud of it. I have my conservative side, and even voted for Bush because I didn’t believe my party was tough enough on those that attacked us on 9-11. I thought Dems were too busy finding reasons to blame ourselves.

I have been kicking myself for most of this decade. I thought Bush was a moderate. Okay, so my head must have been up my a_ _ during that period. My friends and colleagues have not let me forget it. I thought we had another Reagan; instead we got a pig-headed, narrow-minded, right-wing fundamentalist who has almost single-handedly (almost because he has his cowboy cabinet helping him) destroyed the Middle East, and pitted the entire world against us. Not to mention all the deaths he is responsible for. And it’s taken him less than 8 years to do it. It may take decades to undo the damage he has done to us.

So, NPR interviewed several people and most were philosophical about their party, conceding that Bush screwed it up beyond salvaging—at least for the next election cycle. But one woman (I’m so distressed at my sex in this case) said that this country was so out of control because we keep killing babies (she’s strictly anti-abortion), and she also said we need to stop this Gay business. This Gay business? I almost ran off the road.

I never knew Republican was actually a synonym for Ignorant until I heard this woman spew her idiotic drivel. We can boil down the problems in this country to abortion and this Gay business. I’m so upset I don’t even want to go on. All I can say is that it will be a cold day in Hell (excuse the cliché) before I ever vote for a Republican again. And I’m proud to be a Gay woman who has a responsible, loving partner. And I’m proud to belong to no political party whatsoever. I’m so tired of them all. Especially the Ignorant Party.