So I'm at a family function over the weekend and of course, as we all know, all roads lead to Rome, so invariably the conversation takes us to the upcoming election.
I keep my cool when surrounded by Palinistas and nod then go in for the attack in a calm manner at first until I ultimately loose my cool and my head explodes at people's ignorance of issues, the claims of their supposed political parties, and their notions that the McCains and Palins are just like us.
Mind you, my family is made up of European immigrants and their children- people who left their country of origin because they didn't have any future there since you can divide a farm only so much before you make it useless. These were people who harvested grapes and olives and tended to sheep and goats. Too busy surviving to get an education. Hardly McCain-like endeavors.
Someone saids, "Well, you know, a poll I saw said that 50% of Hillary voters are now supporting Palin." I asked what poll it was, where they had read this and I couldn't get any more information.
This kind of flippant remark makes me go nuts. I think that I morph into one of those cartoon characters whose heads pop off and flip a few times while the fire and smoke pours out of their ears.
That idea that women of one political party with defined ideals and values will just turn around and support a competing party's candidate just because she is a woman, a woman with for the most part, COMPLETELY OPPOSITE ideals and values, is just plain wrong. I would think that logic tells us that supporters of Hillary have some instrinsically fundamental differences from Palin supporters.
Yes, yes, there are those very vocal Hillary gals that have gone off the deep end and jumped to the other party boat out of spite and whatever they believe to be right. [I still think that some of those more vocal ones we kept seeing in the mainstream media clips where just Republican plants.] And, I understand that there are those who just want a woman, any woman, but they have to be the minority of Hillary voters.
I'll look it up a bit later and provide some sort of stats but I'm sure that someone on this site has already done that.
I know that my mother, an immigrant, a naturalized citizen, a union member, a church goer, a widow, a woman who assisted two kids through college during the Regean/Bush I years, a democrat, was and still is a Hillary supporter. So is/was my mother-in-law, also a naturalized immigrant with the same sort of bio. I too voted for Hillary (mainly out of respect for her endeavors having lived in Brooklyn for a while and since I knew that Illinois' primary was overwhelmingly going to go to Obama.).
Here are three Hillary voters. All of us are voting for Obama. How is that 50%?? (yes, I know, not a scientific unbiased study)
My mom says, bless her 75 years old heart, "Obama had an immigrant father, was raised by a single mom, worked hard and got an excellent education and decided to help people first instead of becoming a rich guy at some company. Why would I vote for a guy who's dad got him into school and then he dumps his wife and children to chase some young rich girl?? He'll be just like the DUMMY." That is what she calls W, the Dummy, isn't that great?!
Mom is deeply religious but supports abortion rights because she knows that for some women, because of their situations, abortion is a life saver. She would never impose her beliefs on others unless she was prepared to help raise that child, and she isn't.
She understands better than McCain that the little guy slaving at the factory needs a strong union to look out for them instead of the corporation's interests. She worked in a factory for 27 years.
She gets that social security can be a life saver especially after my father passed and us kids were minors- until one day, when Regean took most of it away and she had to work an extra shift while we were home alone. She understands the importance of health benefits.
She understands the importance of educational benefits, having two college educated daughters, one who went to a la-te-da school mind you, out of merit and not insider privelege.
I could go on and on but I'll stop now. Mom says, "I would be proud for Obama to win, but mostly because it would be like one of my children winning."
Go mom, you have the right idea.