Not everyone living in the South is a conservative. My Dad's been sending this around to his Dem buddies (most of them also native NYers, though):

The Republican National Committee announced today that the Republican Party is changing its emblem from an elephant to a condom. The committee chairman explained that the condom more clearly reflects the party's stance today because a condom accepts inflation, halts production, destroys the next generation, protects a bunch of pricks, and gives you a sense of security while you're actually getting screwed.

I must be moving through the seven phases of grief. Is gallows humor one of them?

I am utterly devastated. I couldn't believe it four years ago, and I can't believe it now.

Once again the popular vote is split down the middle with the gap between each side wider than ever. How can one-half of the country swallow another four years of "leadership" from GW Bush when we're so polarized on issues? Especially now that he has no motivation for even feigning bi-partisanship (if he ever did).

I can take some comfort in living on the (politically) left-coast. But four more years of a Republican president, Senate and House - not to mention the likelihood of Supreme Court nominations during that time - scares the b'jezus out of me.

So what do I do? Leave the country? Seems crazy that it could come to that, with all the checks and balances the founding fathers put into the system. Yet I have to say it's tempting. (Damn Toronto's cold weather!)

At the same time, I know 55M people feel more or less like I do. Doesn't that count for something?

I hate politics and god knows I have no answers for how to change things at that level. It kills me to see how money, negative campaigning, powerful lobbies and the media have more impact on the final outcome than anything substantial like issues or core values. It doesn't pay to play fairly.

For now, all I can do is not give up on what I believe in. I can't just roll over for four years and hope things will get better then. I keep thinking about how Newsom brilliantly orchestrated the same-sex marriage watershed moment in SF . Even though the lawsuit was later overruled, the impact of seeing 4,000 gay couples publicly wed was undeniable. Although for a brief moment after hearing 11 states passed same-sex marriage bans I thought maybe we had pushed too hard to soon. But no, no, no. You can't wait for the time to be right before doing what's right. Not these days. Civil disobedience may be the only way to go.

Anyway, stick together (e:peeps) .

Maybe I'll become a philosopher. Think there's any money in that? hahaha.

My mother always registered as "unaffiliated," saying she voted for the person not the party. Anyway, I liked the premise enough to start doing that too, although it's a pain in the ass and I can't imagine I could ever vote any way but Democratic. So why the frick did I do it? I don't know. Because I liked the fact that the option is there, I guess.

I still like the concept, and it was kind of fun throwing a curveball at the volunteers manning the voting booths, but in practice I've found I have to be very careful to check what it really means in my state every time I vote. Just when I thought I knew how screwed up the election process was, I find yet another way. (damn! didn't want to turn this into a rant. "La-la-la happy-place la-la-la...." Not working.)

All right, one last point, this time applying the logic I thought was inherent in the "unaffiliated" political label to sexual preference. Now that I live in the land of "pansexuals" and "heteroflexibles" et. al, it occurred to me: wouldn't it be refreshing just to be sexually "unaffiliated?" Fall in love with the person, not the gender? The rest is just logistics.

Crazy, I know. And the distinctions/labels do make it easier to communicate. But I still like the idea. Anything that widens the field for me right now sounds good.

<disclaimer> the above content is not in response to opinions contained in any other journals. just random musings. if I've offended anybody for any reason, believe me that was not my intention. </disclaimer>

Oh, and to top it all off, instead of politically "unaffiliated" they now label it "decline to state," like you're hiding something. ("La-la-la happy-happy-place...." Damn.) Anyway, I won't be doing that any more.