Whenever I travel I almost always end up in deep political conversations with people who identify themselves as conservatives and republicans. I guess people feel like they can open up with me. I did at one point want to be a nun and I guess people get that I am not only willing to listen but I take the conversation seriously to the point of it being sacred. To me communication is communion and those 10, 15, 20 minutes to me are sincerely precious.
This is the second time I have been given permission to write about these conversations with pseudonymous attribution. The first conversation I published was the one I had with “The Guy”. I met The Guy during a return trip from Washington DC [1]. I really want to re-publish what he had to say because, honestly, it cannot be repeated enough :
"Michael Moore is right";, he said. I asked him about the coming fight over Roberts and the likes of people like Dobson : "You don't understand, they don't care. These people don't care. This is just entertainment to them. A way to keep the masses fighting with each other. They are out to make billions and billions of dollars, amass incredible wealth and power while we're here, the have-nots of all sorts of incomes, down here duking it out. They don't care about Roberts or homosexuals or dead babies. They only care about power. And that power is money and oil." I sat there quietly, with my eyes wide open. The Guy had told me earlier that he worked in satellite broadcasting media. That means his contracts are in the tens of millions. And this guy looked at Bush as the enemy.
Now it's Mr. D's turn.
I met Mr. D on the way over to the airport. Mr. D works in finance and was taking a plane to Las Vegas to take the qualifying exam for their fire department. To my beanie-wearing readers, Mr. D looked like he could be the love child of Clay Shirky [2] and Cam Barrett [3]. Young, white, affluent. Not your typical red stater but certainly of the kind that matters to the GOP (and unfortunately to any political party) : he's a guy with money to spare in the form of campaign contributions.
Why was Mr. D. leaving an extremely well paid job with gobs of economic perks for a chance to work as a firefighter? Two words : September 11.
After the attacks, he wanted to join the army but due to a glitch he was not accepted. The glitch does not apply for people looking to join the police or fire departments of certain cities or townships. Las Vegas is one of those places and that's why Mr. D has decided to go for saving lives at Sin City. He even described why his move was strategic. The tests are incredibly hard for Las Vegas. Lots of chemistry questions. He felt that in case of another attack, he would be extremely well prepared to help his country.
I honestly chocked a little. I personally have issues with anything done in the name of anything involving the patriarchy, including patriotism. But Mr. D's patriotism wasn't blind. Especially after he shared the following words of political wisdom with me. Words Democrarts should live by :
On the GOP
People in the Democratic Party read your blog? Then please tell them, I'm a conservative and a republican and I don't believe the people running the GOP are either conservatives or republicans. Call them whatever you want but don't call them republicans.
On Hillary
You want my honest to god opinion? If you nominate Hillary you're going to lose. I'm sorry but Hillary? I hate Bush and nowadays the GOP is a joke but Hillary? Let's say she's the John McCain of the Democratic Party. Good on paper but nobody will vote for them.
On the 2008 elections
I know there's a lot of other people in the GOP feeling like I do these days. You want to get our votes? You want to know who I'd vote for? Barack Obama. I'd vote for that guy in a heartbeat.
I truly love these micro-atomic political moments. Democrats think that Hillary has to get all conservative on her ass to win. The problem is not whether she is liberal or conservative, cheery or rageful. The problem is that Hillary is Hillary. Period. But to my surprise, Mr. D echoed what some of my republican friends here in New York City have been saying since the Democratic National Convention. Give them Obama and they'll switch parties in an instant.
What do all these republicans I've spoken to have in common? They call themselves true consarvatives of the fiscal kind even though socially and culturally they tend to be moderates with liberalish overtones. They all fall in the 30 to 45 age bracket. They are well educated, highly skilled (and sometimes paid) professionals mostly in the banking and technology fields. And they all looove Barak Obama. Actually, I had The Guy tell me, "I hope he doesn't run 'cause I'd hate to see him shot down ... in the literal sense of the word."
What do I have to say to this? I hope Hillary Clinton realizes the presidency is not for her to contest. I sincerely hope though that all the money she is raising ends up used on supporting other candidates, ones who can actually win elections.
Then again, that could turn out to be even more disastrous for the Democrats.
Technorati Tags: democrats [4], hillary clinton [5], republicans [6], sxsw2006 [7]
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