Gut Feeling

I have a very close friend from my days in graduate school that keeps in touch on a semi-monthly basis.  Will is a smart guy, and he’s funny as mess.

We don’t see eye-to-eye on politics, and sometimes I hate even talking about politics with him because it seems that nothing is settled or agreed on at the end of the argument.  I have a habit of going with my gut on issues, and Will has a habit of asking me to “give me one example of X ever happening!”  Sometimes I give him an example and he shuts up.  Other times, he just clarifies: “just for the record…you said ‘I believe this’ even though you don’t have any data to back it up…”

And that’s where I am today.  I don’t have all kinds of examples of how Democrats are Imperialists (his charge against Republicans) and certainly don’t think that the Republicans are a party of squeaky-clean, morally upright politicians.  I think that both parties are cheese eating surrender monkeys, who kowtow to corporations and corrupt individuals at every turn.

But my gut, my limited experience with the human condition, tells me that the Republican party is not as far gone as the Democrat party.  I think they’re on the same road, and with their foot on the pedal, going like gangbusters in the same direction, but they’re not there yet.

Give them 20 years.

In the meantime, I can’t cite paper-trails and history lessons, but I can cite Obama’s failure to reform Illinois State politics when he had the chance. I can cite his connections with crazy loons bent on the destruction of the US. I can cite his slick double-speak as he sounds like an auctioneer at a bizarre reverse auction: “tax cuts for those making $250K and below, do I hear tax cuts for $200K and below, we have tax cuts for those making under $200K per year” (Biden chimes in: “tax cuts for those under $150K)….

I’m no fanboy of the Republicans.  But with the Democrat base galvanized by the advent of the Messiah, I can’t vote third party, and I can’t give you all the reasons right now.  Now’s not the time to vacillate.

I’m going with my gut.