I went to the dentist this morning dreading getting a filling, but had to endure something a lot more painful: an elderly couple’s discussion about how and why they despise Hillary Clinton and that Socialist running against her whose name they couldn’t even remember.
I felt like a captive audience. The waiting room at my dentist’s office is very small. So, I was sitting within six or seven feet of them and almost felt like they were actually talking “at” me anyway.
It all started when the clerk approached the man and asked about his medical history. He told her he’d had chemo yesterday and that he’d had a knee replaced last year and was going broke paying the bills. He went on to say he hoped the bridge work he was getting done wouldn’t cost too much and that he wasn’t sure how much he could afford.
After the clerk got the info she needed and had him sign some paperwork, he turned to the woman he was sitting with—I assume she was his wife—and said, “These bills are killing us, but I don’t care if Hillary comes up with some sort of magical medical plan to help I still wouldn’t vote for her.”
His wife responded, “She can’t be trusted. Plus, she’s into that gay, lesbian stuff. That’s why Bill cheats on her.”
“And don’t forget Benghazi,” her husband added. “Hillary let all those people die. That guy running against her in the primaries, I can’t think of his name...he needs to hammer her on that. Needs to keep all that stuff front and center.”
“I can’t remember his name either. He has some pretty good ideas, but I wouldn’t vote for him either,” said his wife. “How would he pay for all that?”
“Only way to pay for it...raising taxes. He’s way too liberal...tax and spend, that’s all they know,” replied the man. “And, even worse he’s a Socialist.”
The clerk finally rescued me by calling me from the waiting room to go see the dentist.
I don’t know where their conversation went from there, but it’s a safe bet they concluded that they’re voting Republican no matter if the Democrats nominate Hillary, Bernie or even Jesus Christ. Another safe bet: Those two folks going to vote—even if it’s against their own economic best interests.
That willfully ignorant couple is a reminder of why getting out the vote and uniting behind the Democratic nominee is so important in the General Election in November. Otherwise, people of their ilk will put the likes of a Rubio, Bush or Kasich...or heaven forbid a Trump or a Cruz in the White House. And that same couple will find a reason to blame Democrats for their economic woes.