As a supporter of John McCain and Sarah Palin, I'm not jubilant tonight. But as an American, I can only hope and pray that our new President-Elect does an amazing job for our great country.
I think that McCain's concession speech tonight underscored what a class act and true patriot Senator McCain truly is. I look forward to his continued leadership in the Senate. Similarly, I look forward to Governor Palin finishing her term with the strength, courage, smarts and grace that we've come to expect of her. Go Sarah in 2012!!
With respect to President-Elect Obama, I can only hope that his election will bring out the best in him. I hope that the unique opportunity afforded him by the people of this country will imbue him with humility, love of country, strength to face adversity and the courage to let Americans do what we do best.
As a Coloradoan, I hope that our newest Senator, Mr. Udall, will follow in the footsteps of Senator McCain's mentor, Mo Udall, and will make reaching across the aisle a matter of course, rather than a rare occurrence.
While I'm not sipping champagne tonight, nor shouting to the hilltops in joy, I do celebrate that, once again, this country has voted to change course, without violence, through the ballot box.
That said, where do I sign up for the Palin 2012 campaign? Do you think if we start early enough there could be an office in Denver so I won't have to carpool with my Dad to the suburbs to volunteer?
God bless you all.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
My Vote for McCain and the Derangement of My Friends
As I've mentioned in previous posts, I'm coming out of the (conservative) closet and am living on one of the most liberal blocks in Denver. My neighbors proudly display their BO lawn signs and Stalinesque posters of the One promoting HOPE. Although most of my neighbors know I'm voting McCain, I've not engaged them politically, because I know it's a lost cause. These are the passionate W-haters who sport ITMFA bumper-stickers and cried when Kerry lost.
Despite our political differences, these people are my friends. With them I celebrate their family milestones: their promotions and pregnancies, their kids' birthdays, first days of school, their kids learning to ride a bike or fly a kite. My husband and I teach them our hobbies -- impromptu guitar lessons by Colfax Husband, painting and piano lessons from me. When they need a break, we take their kids to the movies. I volunteer on behalf of their kids' school. We are a part of the village that's helping raise these kids. We love them dearly. We love their parents.
For the last few years, we've had a house party on Halloween. Instead of sitting alone in our homes doling out the candy, we've banded together on one neighbor's porch to allow one stop candy delivery and hang time for the adults. This Halloween was no exception. After the party wore down, the last group of neighbors retired to our house because we have no kids and the best toys. The boys retreated to the basement to jam on the bass, guitar and drums, while the three ladies enjoyed the beautiful weather and some wine. For the purpose of storytelling, we'll call my fellow neighbors Angie and Maggie.
That's when it all went wrong. Somehow we ended up on the subject of politics. Angie demanded to know why I was voting for McCain. When my usual calm recitation of McCain's strengths was too much to bear, she demanded to know what I thought of Sarah P. I calmly repeated my usual talking points (I absolutely love her and am inspired by her, her natural gas pipeline negotiations, her veto of the bill denying gay partner benefits, etc). This enraged my friend. My friend whose children I have loved like my own nephews.
She railed into me, screaming at the top of her lungs, that my choice of candidate meant that I wanted her children to die. I wish I was joking. She screamed (eventually waking another neighbor from a dead sleep) that a vote for McCain is a vote for war and that if I vote for him I'm affirming that I want her boys to die. That because boys still must sign the selective service agreement that McCain would draft her 9 and 7 year-old boys and kill them in a war. It was brutal and devastating. Were I to experience this again, I would have told her to leave my property, but I was too shocked and crushed that she could think such a thing of McCain or me. I have to admit, I just sat there, crying, and trying to calmly argue my remaining points (e.g., we haven't had a draft since the 70s). When all was said and done, I went inside, cried some more and went to bed. When I got up the next morning, I was still heartbroken and crushed.
I think on some level, I had always feared being labeled some sort of extremist freak were I to ever publicly advocate for my conservative values...that's the kind of neighborhood I live in. During the melee on Friday night, I repeatedly said, this is why I've lied to you all these years about my real views, because I knew you'd hate me for them. People, I didn't confess to being a homophobic, racist, elderly-woman killing psychopath. I "confessed" to being a believer in free markets, limited government, a strong military --- including support for victory in Iraq and Afghanistan -- and having someone who loves America elected as President.
Something has changed in America. We can no longer politely and passionately advocate for our preferred vision of American government without engaging in the most destructive of attacks. Stealing someone's lawn signs or creating an environment where our neighbors are afraid to hang a sign because they don't want their property vandalized, are symptoms of our lack of respect for each other and our inability to communicate differing viewpoints without trying to demonize each other. Sometimes I think I'm looking forward to Wednesday morning not just to celebrate McCain's win, but because it will mean that this election is finally over.
Two positive signs before I end the post. First, Angie came to me first thing in the morning to apologize most sincerely for her outrageous behavior. I believe she's sorry for the things she said. But I also believe she meant them. She just didn't mean to say them to me.
Second, I have hope for bipartisanship in the future, led by Hillary Clinton of all people. If the boyz at Hillbuzz are any indication, there are still Democrats who believe in America first and party second. They've been a beacon of hope for me in recent weeks. If you haven't read them yet, please do. Hillbuzz
Thanks.
ColfaxGirl
Despite our political differences, these people are my friends. With them I celebrate their family milestones: their promotions and pregnancies, their kids' birthdays, first days of school, their kids learning to ride a bike or fly a kite. My husband and I teach them our hobbies -- impromptu guitar lessons by Colfax Husband, painting and piano lessons from me. When they need a break, we take their kids to the movies. I volunteer on behalf of their kids' school. We are a part of the village that's helping raise these kids. We love them dearly. We love their parents.
For the last few years, we've had a house party on Halloween. Instead of sitting alone in our homes doling out the candy, we've banded together on one neighbor's porch to allow one stop candy delivery and hang time for the adults. This Halloween was no exception. After the party wore down, the last group of neighbors retired to our house because we have no kids and the best toys. The boys retreated to the basement to jam on the bass, guitar and drums, while the three ladies enjoyed the beautiful weather and some wine. For the purpose of storytelling, we'll call my fellow neighbors Angie and Maggie.
That's when it all went wrong. Somehow we ended up on the subject of politics. Angie demanded to know why I was voting for McCain. When my usual calm recitation of McCain's strengths was too much to bear, she demanded to know what I thought of Sarah P. I calmly repeated my usual talking points (I absolutely love her and am inspired by her, her natural gas pipeline negotiations, her veto of the bill denying gay partner benefits, etc). This enraged my friend. My friend whose children I have loved like my own nephews.
She railed into me, screaming at the top of her lungs, that my choice of candidate meant that I wanted her children to die. I wish I was joking. She screamed (eventually waking another neighbor from a dead sleep) that a vote for McCain is a vote for war and that if I vote for him I'm affirming that I want her boys to die. That because boys still must sign the selective service agreement that McCain would draft her 9 and 7 year-old boys and kill them in a war. It was brutal and devastating. Were I to experience this again, I would have told her to leave my property, but I was too shocked and crushed that she could think such a thing of McCain or me. I have to admit, I just sat there, crying, and trying to calmly argue my remaining points (e.g., we haven't had a draft since the 70s). When all was said and done, I went inside, cried some more and went to bed. When I got up the next morning, I was still heartbroken and crushed.
I think on some level, I had always feared being labeled some sort of extremist freak were I to ever publicly advocate for my conservative values...that's the kind of neighborhood I live in. During the melee on Friday night, I repeatedly said, this is why I've lied to you all these years about my real views, because I knew you'd hate me for them. People, I didn't confess to being a homophobic, racist, elderly-woman killing psychopath. I "confessed" to being a believer in free markets, limited government, a strong military --- including support for victory in Iraq and Afghanistan -- and having someone who loves America elected as President.
Something has changed in America. We can no longer politely and passionately advocate for our preferred vision of American government without engaging in the most destructive of attacks. Stealing someone's lawn signs or creating an environment where our neighbors are afraid to hang a sign because they don't want their property vandalized, are symptoms of our lack of respect for each other and our inability to communicate differing viewpoints without trying to demonize each other. Sometimes I think I'm looking forward to Wednesday morning not just to celebrate McCain's win, but because it will mean that this election is finally over.
Two positive signs before I end the post. First, Angie came to me first thing in the morning to apologize most sincerely for her outrageous behavior. I believe she's sorry for the things she said. But I also believe she meant them. She just didn't mean to say them to me.
Second, I have hope for bipartisanship in the future, led by Hillary Clinton of all people. If the boyz at Hillbuzz are any indication, there are still Democrats who believe in America first and party second. They've been a beacon of hope for me in recent weeks. If you haven't read them yet, please do. Hillbuzz
Thanks.
ColfaxGirl
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Where were you on 9/11?
I hadn't planned to write about 9/11, but as the day wears on, I feel compelled to share my perspective.
I can't eloquently put into words how I feel about today. Personally, I remember the fear I felt, safely here in Denver. I feel and remember how scared I was, and how horrified I was that people, Americans, died such horrifying deaths at the hands of psychos bent on destroying all that is amazing about America. They thought that senseless death would bring us to our knees.
They were mistaken.
For all the shit that people want to throw at GW, you have to give credit where credit is due....He's certainly found a way to tell the rest of the world not to fuck with us. Do I think he's been wrong? Honestly, no.
Some things I think you should see....
From the History Channel (it'll break your heart, but you should see this): http://www.history.com/genericContent.do?id=60326
And because I like this song: http://www.neilyoung.com/lwwtoday/lwwvideos/letsroll_wm.html
I can't eloquently put into words how I feel about today. Personally, I remember the fear I felt, safely here in Denver. I feel and remember how scared I was, and how horrified I was that people, Americans, died such horrifying deaths at the hands of psychos bent on destroying all that is amazing about America. They thought that senseless death would bring us to our knees.
They were mistaken.
For all the shit that people want to throw at GW, you have to give credit where credit is due....He's certainly found a way to tell the rest of the world not to fuck with us. Do I think he's been wrong? Honestly, no.
Some things I think you should see....
From the History Channel (it'll break your heart, but you should see this): http://www.history.com/genericContent.do?id=60326
And because I like this song: http://www.neilyoung.com/lwwtoday/lwwvideos/letsroll_wm.html
Friday, September 5, 2008
Trying to Come Out
I've been toying with the idea of writing a blog for some time now.
For some reason, I feel I have something to say, to whom, I'm not sure. I think it might be liberating to pseudo-anonymously share my thoughts with the world. I don’t have the courage yet to put my name behind this, because I’m still coming to terms with both what I really want to say and how that may conflict with the public persona I’ve crafted over the years. Not that I'm well-known, or anything like that. It's just that I have tried to convince myself that I'm loyal to my party of record for the last five or more years, and I've been reasonably successful at convincing others that "I'm one of them" ---- until the Sunday of the DNC.
Thousands of times I have swallowed my real opinions and have nodded my head and murmured, "how interesting" rather than have the balls to tell a colleague, a casual acquaintance and even a friend what I'm really thinking, because I don't want them to reject me for my "radical" views. (I really don't think anyone will care, but I just want to be spared the inevitable "you're so well-educated, so smart, etc, how can you be a xxxx?????") Maybe I'm selling my peers short, but their vitriol about alternative political views suggests I proceed with caution.
For context, here's a brief bio: I'm a 33 year-old woman, living in Denver, just outside of Downtown off of the great and much maligned Colfax Avenue. I've been married for nine years. We have a cat. I am a consultant, and I serve on two non-profit boards in my community. In my neighborhood, 90% of the registered voters share my current party affiliation. The other Party doesn't even bother to run candidates in my district, because there's no point; they'd lose.
Despite this, the Conventions have forced me to admit that I've been leading a bit of a double life. I'd like to use this blog as an avenue to address this. You see, I'm trying to come out of a closet of my own creation.
I think I'm a Republican.
For some reason, I feel I have something to say, to whom, I'm not sure. I think it might be liberating to pseudo-anonymously share my thoughts with the world. I don’t have the courage yet to put my name behind this, because I’m still coming to terms with both what I really want to say and how that may conflict with the public persona I’ve crafted over the years. Not that I'm well-known, or anything like that. It's just that I have tried to convince myself that I'm loyal to my party of record for the last five or more years, and I've been reasonably successful at convincing others that "I'm one of them" ---- until the Sunday of the DNC.
Thousands of times I have swallowed my real opinions and have nodded my head and murmured, "how interesting" rather than have the balls to tell a colleague, a casual acquaintance and even a friend what I'm really thinking, because I don't want them to reject me for my "radical" views. (I really don't think anyone will care, but I just want to be spared the inevitable "you're so well-educated, so smart, etc, how can you be a xxxx?????") Maybe I'm selling my peers short, but their vitriol about alternative political views suggests I proceed with caution.
For context, here's a brief bio: I'm a 33 year-old woman, living in Denver, just outside of Downtown off of the great and much maligned Colfax Avenue. I've been married for nine years. We have a cat. I am a consultant, and I serve on two non-profit boards in my community. In my neighborhood, 90% of the registered voters share my current party affiliation. The other Party doesn't even bother to run candidates in my district, because there's no point; they'd lose.
Despite this, the Conventions have forced me to admit that I've been leading a bit of a double life. I'd like to use this blog as an avenue to address this. You see, I'm trying to come out of a closet of my own creation.
I think I'm a Republican.
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