I have been thinking a lot lately about that song, "Stuck in the Middle with You." I didn't like it 100 years ago, and I can't say I like it now.
It does, however, seem to sum up the feeling of many tried and true Republicans these days. With the upcoming elections, they will vote Republican, again, because this is all they know. Forget Iraq, forget that their leaders are being proven hypocrites caught in silly gay sex scandals, forget Terry Shiavo and all the false morality that in its darkest hour is never as satisfying as an old episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
I've voted Republican. I was embarrassed, but I've done it. Never in a presidential election, but in Senate races.
I've voted Democrat.
There is something about voting Democrat that makes me proud, even amidst chubby intern sex scandals and whatever wimpy half-hearted policy they are promoting.
It says I'm an idealist. It says I have hope. Sometimes, it says, I'm stupid.
Voting Republican says you are angry. You have a lot of hate issues. You don't like change, you want the status quo. You want your gay sex in the closet, and you wear your Jesus on your sleeve.
I read a good line recently in a book of short stories, "The Littlest Hitler," by Ryan Boudinot. I can't remember word for word, but it was something to the effect of "I knew then what if felt like to be Bruce Springsteen."
As a serious music lover, voting Republican is a little like voting for Jessica Simpson. Good package, bad music.
When I cast my ballot for a Democrat, usually (not always - it depends on the person) I feel like Bruce at his best - in Badlands. "I don't give a damn, for the same old played out scenes, baby I don't give a damn for anything. I want the heart I want the soul I want control right now."
Now that's passion. Okay, no Democrat is that good to inspire such great lyrics, except Carter and in glimpses, Clinton, but it's the feeling I get voting for those other lovable losers. That sense of hope, that sense that everything will be okay, and that life won't beat you down, and that the fat chick who heads up operations in my office will get fired, along with her fake laugh, her delusions, her numerous and cheap diamond chips and her in-your-face Republican attitude of "I'm rich, spoiled and entitled."
Voting Democrat is not about voting for the Democrats. It's about voting against the Republican. It's that feeling that the bad guys will go down and you, my friend, will be skimming down Thunder Road like a Spirit in the Night.
We'll see what the upcoming election brings. My guess? More bad music. Stuck in the Middle with Voters Making Bad Choices.
