"To be in one's twenty's and not be liberal is to not have a heart. To be in one's 40's and still be liberal is to not have a mind." -- Winston Churchill Looks like the bell curve shows I'm a tad quicker on the uptake of some of our other, younger members... I'll be totally honest with you guys...I have two gay friends who own a number of businesses in the Metro Area...The first time I ever met them, I got into a discussion about politics, only to be surprised to find them staunchly Republican... They verified just how accurate Churchill's comment truly was...One told me, "When we were younger and in school, we were all about the party that supported our lifestyle...Democratic to the bone. Then, we graduated, made some money, and realized that if you want to actually keep the money you make, you need to be a Republican." I was shocked...but to hear two people honestly seriously predisposed to support Democrats come out openly in not an impassioned, culturally ingrained manner but a pragmatic one to support Republicans really helped me realize that though I'm a Registered Independent, the platform of the Republican Party isn't just the best for me personally, it is the best long term platform for the health of our Union. Not to say that there aren't ideas that Democrats have that aren't better than some Republicans hypothesize and present...Just that what Democrats support isn't what's best for America...
In Louisiana, when you voted for President today, and you voted for John Kerry, and the election and the popular vote-no matter how much anyone "figured" Bush would win in the "gret stet of looziana"-was in doubt, your vote, in essence, LSUfan4life, very well may have counted... But, tomorrow, when you wake up, and realize that the popular vote in this state went to Bush, thereby prompting the members of the Electoral College for the state of Louisiana to give their votes to the ticket of George W. Bush of Texas & Dick Cheney of Wyoming who represent the Republican ticket for President of the United States of American and the Vice President of the United States of America, you will realize... Your vote may have counted for 12 hours...but that's as long as it counted...Your vote is meaningless in any state where you vote against the candidate who garnered the majority of the popular vote... Elections 101...Your vote counts for every race you ever cast your ballot for, unless you vote for the loser of the popular vote for Presidency in your state...Which some consider most important (me not being one of them)... Therein lies the beauty of the Electoral College...Take a look at all the red on the map tonight...The vast majority of Americans have spurred their states to vote for GWB...But population centers on the West & New England vote solidly Democratic... The Electoral College system is designed so that one, two or even a small minority of states can't elect the President based on the popular vote...Which Cali & New York and the rest of New England could do if not for the Electoral College... Your vote did count...but it doesn't count for long...
