…and
get aggravated over the 2004 election year horse apple games.
I often
get email from solid Americans who are ‘spittin’ nickels mad’ at some
‘political SOB.’ They ask me
what I think about this or that regarding what some blathering candidate said
now. This aggravating part of the
American political scene goes on in perpetuity throughout the campaign season
and really does nothing more than cause a severe disturbance in the force as
each and every election cycle runs its course.
This
year I thought I’d just write a general response and, like the cowboy’s of
old said as they rode behind their cattle, let the chips fall where they may.
I freely
admit that in my volcanic youth, I was an avid sentinel of political
discourse—critically analyzing, dissecting and challenging just about every
weasely word that came from just about every weasely mouth of just about every
weasely politician—but not this time. I
already know how I feel about my guy and that, as they say, is that.
The
truth of the matter is, there is no way on God’s green Earth I would or could
ever vote for “that other guy”. No
matter what he says today it will most likely change tomorrow and no matter how
he spins, parses and pirouettes his “positions” depending on who he’s
talking to at this particular second, it just won’t change my mind in his
favor. And the same is true for
about 80% of American voters—approximately 40% will vote Democrat and 40%
Republican—you can just about bank on it.
It’s the 20% who can never seem to understand the question that are the
real targets of all this campaign money that’s being thrown about like free
seed corn nowadays.
Another
thing I already know for certain and as we’ve unquestionably seen so far,
there will be more bull chips flying in this year’s games than can be found in
any stockyard in the civilized or uncivilized world. The only thing this bantering back and forth will do is
aggravate the bejeebers out of most solid Americans—the likes of which are
found riding the SASS circuit.
So let
me turn the Q & A tables around and ask you three simple questions:
1. Is
there anything that the opposing candidate can say about your guy that will
convince you to shift your vote to him? I
seriously doubt it in this crowd.
2. Does
the never-ending diatribe of political spin, double talk and smelly rhetorical
fog anger, aggravate and upset you? I
suspect it does.
3. Final
question. Then why put yourself
through painful aggravation when you already know what you’re going to do in
November?
Well,
the view from my saddle tells me to pretty much ignore all this hyped up
political twaddle for a change and enjoy life with my family and good time
cowboy shootin’ buddies.
Don’t
misunderstand, I haven’t gone the way of the 60’s style hippies who “tuned
in, turned on and dropped out.” I’ll
still attempt to educate those poor souls who can’t seem to understand the
question and I’ll continue to fight for and strongly advocate those
traditional values that gave birth to America over 225 years ago just as I’ve
done all my life. That mission is
still a critically important, if not a moral obligation for every solid American
patriot in my view. You just
won’t see the old colonel here hanging on and reacting to every carefully
crafted, poll based and exceedingly hollow word of this 2004 campaign as I’ve
done during previous campaigns. Life
is too short once you blast past 50 to let yourself get unduly aggravated over a
few political horse apples in the road when you already know where the real
apples are hangin’.
Just the
more relaxed view from my more relaxed saddle…