Tis the Season to be Partisan

[K Gardner]

It’s going to be a nasty year.

They’re coming out of the woodwork, I swear, they’re everywhere. I can’t turn around these days without running into a Republican and some form of a BIG LIE. My fuse is short and I think my head might explode. I’ve had nearly eight years of it, and Eight is Enough.

I flew out to Sacramento in September for a nursing conference on universal healthcare. Oh, the joy of being in a blue state surrounded by progressive thinkers for even a few days. But I digress. When I returned, my sister-in-law presented me with something her mother printed off the internet and was circulating by the gazillions. Knowing I was getting ready to ratchet up my HR 676 networking, she handed it to me as if it were the Holy Grail. It was an internet chain letter from some anonymous person who claimed to be from Canada, warning about the dire state of healthcare there and the woes that would befall America if we elect a Democrat. No facts, nothing true, just fear-mongering. She’s drowning in medical bills, living paycheck to paycheck, can barely buy food for her family after she buys medicine, but she bought that anonymous letter hook, line and sinker. “I may be in debt, but at least I don’t have to wait in line!” She really said that.

I logged on to my favorite nursing board a couple of days later only to find someone there proclaiming to be the “husband of a Canadian nurse”, also warning about the dangers of what he called “Hillarycare”. This guy actually quoted Fox News as his reliable source of “accurate information about what a mess you’ll be in if Hillary gets elected”. I countered with facts and he countered with: “Illegal aliens and all their family members will be lining up for your free healthcare.” Several people responded favorably to his astute summary of the hidden dangers of a new healthcare plan in the U.S.

At work today, I was chatting with one of the hospital administrators about the nursing shortage and nursing salaries in our area. “Well”, he said, “it will only get worse if a Democrat wins the White House and we’re forced into socialized medicine. Your salary will really go down then.” I stood there for a second, wondering how the conversation took such a partisan turn, when he came out with this: “ And if that’s not bad enough, your tax dollars will be used to pay for sex-change operations like they do in San Francisco, the most socialized city in America!” I almost fell over. Guy had on a suit and tie. His head was attached to his shoulders and you’d think, by logical deduction, he had a brain. He didn’t. None of them do. But they look like us.

They’re programmed robots from some alien alternate universe who do and say what they’re told; who regurgitate talking points to anyone who will listen but have no capacity for logic or deductive reasoning. Resistance is futile. They’ve been assimilated. There are millions of them out there. The orders have gone out from the Mother Ship. You’ll find them in your family, at your grocery store, in anonymous letters, on obscure message boards and at your place of work. They all bear the same message. And that message is Fear.

Tread carefully Startroopers. And may the Force be with you!

"I’ve seen America in this campaign and I like what I see. It's worth fighting for and that’s a fight I’ll never stop. As for the battle that ends tonight, I do believe as my father once said, that no matter how hard the loss, defeat might serve as well as victory to shake the soul and let the glory out. Some have asked whether I have any regrets and I do have one regret: that I didn’t get the chance to stay and fight for the American people over the next four years, especially for those who need burdens lifted and barriers removed, especially for those who feel their voices have not been heard. I heard you and I will not forget. " – Al Gore, Dec. 13, 2000


Disclaimer:(and a shame I feel the need to do this) Before anyone flames me for posting this, please allow me to state that I (a) have no agenda other than getting a Democrat in the White House (b) have not decided who to support in the primaries yet (c) think we have a wonderfully marvelous group of candidates to choose from, any of which would serve honorably and (d) I firmly believe we must stick together as Democrats to ward off the inevitable attacks to come