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• Sunday, May 11, 2008 09:54 PM

  @ShawnWM

  I've been asked to not feed the trolls. Nevertheless, I'd like to give you the courtesy of a response to your question regarding my "transparent facade", because, being a Republican (so far, anyway), I do bear a certain burden of proof. So I will answer your question. I doubt we will remain engaged beyond this point, but that remains to be seen. At any rate, here goes:

  I am, as I surmise you know, a lifelong Republican. What you may not know is that the last Republican Presidential candidate I voted for was Richard "The Dick" Nixon. Blame it on my youth. In 1992 and 1996 I was a foot soldier for Bill Clinton. During the rest of the two terms I was doing all I could to help him get his one hand untied by the disgraceful, disgusting Ken Starr, et al. Locally I voted mostly for Democrats because for all but five years of my life I've lived in or near Washington, DC, and good luck finding a worthwhile Republican here for any purpose. So while I may be a Republican, my party knows who I am and where I stand. It's rarely one of them who call upon me to speak on behalf of a piece of legislation or otherwise take up a cause. I also refuse probably half the Democrats who ask me to do this, but at least they sometimes have good ideas. And, as I said before, there aren't a hell of a lot of Republicans hereabouts anyway, let alone any useful ones (there of course have been some exceptions that prove the rule, mostly on the local level).

  OK then, so much for biography. Having supported mostly Democrats and having voted for only Democrats for President since 1980 onward, there's no reason to believe I'd support a Democrat I thought would lose to John McCain or any other idiot my so-called party could have fielded this time around. I have supported Barack Obama because I truly believe he is the preferable candidate. If, for some reason, he does not wind up with the nomination (and if you actually read my posts you'd know I don't believe in counting chickens that haven't been hatched), I will most certainly vote for Hillary Clinton in the general. I am a Republican, but I am also a human being and would not consider having any part in inflicting another four to eight years of insanity on my countrymen and women. You may feel that's a contradiction in terms, but that's only because you are someone who is only comfortable putting people into pigeonholes for your convenience and the luxury of not having to think a whole lot.

  So much for my apostasy. Finally, nobody (with the possible exception of Joan Walsh) tells me when to leave off posting here. That "nobody" includes you, son.

  That's far more explaining than I owe you and all you're going to get. As for me "run[ing] along now", I'm afraid you're gonna have to live with the disappointment,if not the horror, of my occasional diatribe. Besides, without a real live registered Republican here to hate, what would you do with yourself? Never mind said Republican chooses to think -- and speak -- for himself.

  Over and out.

  —AJCalhoun Read AJCalhoun's other letters
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