Friday, September 5, 2008

I KEEP TRYING

I’ve done a tiny bit of asking around at work about the presidential campaign and……I’m not quite sure what to think. Several of my female co-workers think the ‘Pubs are just great. Obama’s education, legal work, organizational work, state legislature service and teaching are dismissed out of hand. Granted these gals are about my age, maybe a little younger. They’re at least high school graduates or maybe a little college. But, my cats are more curious about what’s going on in the world. And would probably have better taste in candidates

A remark that the changes they’re promising could have been done already is also dismissed out of hand. It’s depressing to say the least. I suspect that the family that owns the company is of a more liberal bent and I have seen a few Obama bumper stickers in the employee lot. Fingers permanently crossed, at least in my mind. With luck, Libertarian Ron Paul may just bleed off enough Republicans who can’t bring themselves to vote for Obama, but can’t stomach the “pit bull with lipstick” either. A girl can hope can’t she?

Speaking of the “pit bull,” there was a letter in the Oregonian this morning from a gal who is a real life community organizer in the Portland metro area. She was not amused at Palin’s crack at Obama’s experience. She help folks with everything from keeping the power on to finding money to make the rent. And, as she put it, “I have to find real money to cover these things, I can’t just print more.” We’ve got a long road ahead of us folks.

I know who I’m voting for in the November but I don’t think I’ll have much luck changing any minds around here. Hell my eighty two year old mother is more up on political issues than this bunch. Lisa, I have to keep reminding myself that the situation at that little bakery in the mall was far more unique thanI realized at the time.

In other election news here in Oregon, the ‘Pubs are so bankrupt they couldn’t even field a candidate to oppose Peter DeFazio in the fourth district. He isn’t totally unopposed; there are candidates from the Constitution and Green parties running. And that’s really sad. The system, such as it is only works when there are candidates running from all parties. Granted, if Saint Peter was running as a Republican I’d still think twice about voting for him; just because of the party label.

I think that’s what’s happened in Oregon. A lot of new voters are registering as Independents and I suspect that more than a few Republicans are simply leaving the party and doing the same thing.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

These folks who vote all republican all the time are not interested in the candidates.  They are interested in making points in heaven by voting for the "right" ticket.  No one in their right mind, who is actually looking at and considering the merits of the candidates, would touch Sarah Palin with a ten-foot pole.  Or, at this point, McCain, for that matter.  

Perhaps we can't change minds, but we can make sure that anyone who might think that Obama will win without their help knows that they NEED TO VOTE.  We who have lived in Springfield know what happens when liberals stay home in the belief that the platform of the other side is too ridiculous, too polarizing or too unconstitutional to pass.  Lisa  :-]

Anonymous said...

I agree with Lisa.  I tried to comment before, but apparently my comment didn't post.  I had lunch with several colleagues, all women, on Thursday.  These are conservative women whom I like but who know that we don't share the same political beliefs, so as a rule, we don't talk politics.  Thursday, though, one of them asked if anyone had watched Sarah Palin's speech.  Turns out I was the only one who had, or the only one admitting it.  "What did you think?" my friend asked.  I said that Sarah Palin scares me for so many reasons, and that because I felt like that, I thought it might be best if we didn't discuss it any further.  Call me a coward, but I'm under no illusions that I'm going to change anyone's mind in this group if any of them is going to vote for her.  But I did point out that Obama is hardly the rube the Republicans are portraying him to be.  I pointed out that he was editor of the Harvard Law Review and that he taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School.  The women with whom I was lunching are all highly educated, in fact, all have doctorates...so I figured this would have some sway with them, and I was right.  One said, though, "If that's true, why hasn't it been all over the news?"  *sigh*

Judi

Anonymous said...

that's funny. I am Republican and I pay attention to the candidates and the issues. I must be strange!