The Republican Mind
Here I am in San Francisco, you know that bastion of liberal thought, and when I went down to the exercise room at my hotel, what is the TV news channel they have on? Fox Noise. Are all traveling business people Republicans who like their news carefully filtered so they don’t learn anything new or challenge their staid ideas? Rhetorical question, sorry. But it gets better.
Last night after an orgy of oysters at Hog Island Oyster Bar, I wandered over to my favorite wine bar (called Wine on Front Street at Embarcadero Center) to finish off the evening with a nice glass of wine before BARTing back to my hotel. I am sitting at the counter minding my own business when one of the two guys sitting next to me (Dave and Harold) says that Democrats are like white wine, pleasant, but no complexity, while Republicans are more complex and fulfilling, like a good red. I said out loud, “Bullshit. I think you have that exactly backward.” So once again I am in the liberal left coast and I am sitting next to two Republicans. WTF? Meanwhile the staff is scattering away from this conversation in case there are blows.
Actually Dave and Harold were quite pleasant, and I listened more than talked because I wanted to really understand what they were thinking. Dave was the more conservative one, but more in line with Republicans before the radical right took them over. Harold was an independent, leaning conservative. They ended up sharing their wine and cheese with me so I think I comported myself well but I just have to relay some of the conversation because it is a window into their minds.
Dave indicated that he had voted for Bush, but never really liked him. Isn’t interesting that the Republican mind is distancing itself from George, taking no responsibility for his failed ideas? He did agree that the Republican Party was in disarray with no leadership. He thought John McCain was a wimp and did not care for Sara Palin, but thought Michelle Bachmann could be a leader. I think I may have used the word fruitcake.
Both were terrified of big government. They did not want the government running anything. If medical insurance companies were just allowed to compete in different states, and we had tort reform, problem over. I pointed out that in Texas they had tort reform and the costs are still growing. I also pointed out that States regulate insurance companies in their individual states so if they are allowed to compete nationally, who would regulate them? I also pointed out that police and fire services are “government” provided, but that was different according to them because it was “local” government. But it gets better.
There is no problem with funding of education because if you really want to go to school, you will earn it. So I tried to point out that for many deserving and hard working kids, education is being priced out of reach or they start their life in unbearable debt. Well Dave was firm on this one, that education is not some entitlement, but must be earned. My counter was that access to education should not be based on your wallet, but on your ability. He kind of gave in a little on this one, especially when the staff at wine bar could not resist weighing in on this one as several were in school and going broke. Harold jumped in there on this one also, thinking that if you were qualified, you should be able to go to college. Hooray for Harold.
The part I really loved was that Obama is weakening our defense. So I asked how was he doing that, and Dave said by being nice to other countries when all they understand is a big stick, and this stuff about prosecution of torturers. I just let this lie because the cheese plate they had ordered was really good and I did not want to be cut off. Finally they said they could support a public option in health care, but there needed to be a level playing field. When I asked what that meant, I got blank looks and then Dave launch in on how the government does not have to make a profit, but private industries do. I did not raise the obvious point that that profit is money that could otherwise be paying for someone’s health care. They were both quite happy with their health care plans and did not want the government screwing it up. I asked if either had been really sick and tested it, and their answer was no. I also said that their health care may get dumped by their employer down the road as it gets more and more expensive. I also pointed out that although their employer pays these ever increasing fees, it is really coming out of salary increases they might see. Both paused, but then challenged my basis for saying that health care would price itself out of the market. Again, I wasn’t in an argumentative mood and the bottle of wine they ordered was quite nice.
Oh there were other priceless gems, like cap and trade will just destroy this country, and the Chinese are completely in control of our economy, but all in all we had a cordial discussion and I was convinced that we live in two different realities. Mine is one where people are struggling and they need some help from the government, and theirs was one that if the free market could just operate freely, things would be hunky dory. I wonder why our two sets of “facts” are so misaligned? Can there really be two sets of facts? I don’t think so.