As many of you know, I am a cradle Catholic and a volunteer with my parish. Those two facts alone make many of the people there believe that I am actually a conservative. It's actually kind of humorous, a few of us there are underground liberals. There has been talk of developing a signal where one of us draws half a donkey and the other one finishes it. It's a lonely world we live in, but is a world that has taught me how the other side speaks and thinks.
One of the things I have done over the past several years is volunteer with a group called Lifeteen. It helps prepare pre-teenagers for the rite of confirmation. Since most of the people in the group are weekly church goers and dedicated Catholics, the group is mostly conservative with some notable exceptions. In particular, one of the volunteers is a councilman in one of Houston's satellite communities. He's one of the fire and brimstone Catholics and I have the "fortune" of having him think I am as well.
He recently had a medical procedure done and so the topic of health care came up. He is a very intelligent guy, so it was interesting to me to see what he thought about the subject. He said he was committed to Pete Olson even though he knows Nick Lampson well. Health care was one of those major issues. He blathered on about death panels (even if he didn't use the name) and had problems with Obama because he gave money to ACORN and ACORN has "been corrupt for 20 years."
Other than those two points I it was a fairly reasonable if not completely well informed discussion. I think his main objection is that he objects to the notion that health care is a right. This is one of those discussions where I interjected a few points here and there, but tried not to pick a fight. I think if he understood that universal health care wouldn't be free to the uninsured then he might have less of a problem. I do think portability and banning the term "pre-existing conditions" is a universal among liberals and thinking conservatives.
What I also found out is that there is a possible alliance to be had between progressives and Libertarian type conservatives in the form of campaign finance reform. He sounded more pissed off about it than I am. As the Republican party keeps moving to the fringe, it becomes more of a challenge to find interesting coalitions to get things done. On some issues, people we would consider the enemy are actually our friend. As we have already seen, some of the blue dogs may have the Democratic label, but the ingredients in the box just don't seem to fit.
In short, it's about getting things done. On most issues, history books are not going to care whether it was a straight party vote or an unusual coalition. Often, history remembers more about the people who opposed a major initiative (say Strom Thurmond with the Civil Rights Act) than who voted yes or no. As for me, I'll let them think I am conservative because it allows me to find out what they are thinking without suspicion.
"Strict constructionism is a myth at this point."
scott you speak the truth! while watching people spew "i want my country, my america, my (fill in the blank) back at the town halls and 912 hatefest i was wondering, which america,country, etc? women shouting this & holding signs would have been told to shut up or stay home in their place, come to think of it they would have never been there in the first place! in mary poppins it was wealthy white women who demanded sufferage, because they wanted their husbands to take them seriously. yet the ERA failed to pass because women stood against it! i've been reading the federalist papers and starting to think 50 states simply cannot agree on vital issues because the needs/wants of so many will never jibe. so maybe manifest destiny is a failure and was too greedy of an ambition.
Truth is that the framers of our constitution could not have envisioned most of the things government is responsible for now. Health insurance back in the 1700s? What for leaching? It isn't about what they intended. We can intend all we want, but 200 years from now we can't imagine the issues our country will face. So, every politician must decide how much of the 10th amendment applies. Strict constructionism is a myth at this point.
i find it interesting that conservatives keep on about "across state lines" when they also keep on about "10th amendment" and gov't not interfering with each state's rights! why won't anyone in the media point out that conservatives want to pick and choose how much gov't they want/don't want depending on how it applies to the particular spin they have on any issue at any moment? medicaid for instance, wildly varies from generous to barely existent depending on how the STATE politics stand! also crap about treating health insurance like car is beyond stupid. poor people can "choose" public transportation or public ghetto schools where they live, hasn't seemed to stop car sales, mid size or cadillac. ditto kinkaid school or awty seem to be doing fine. but the uninsured cannot choose to "not own" their body, and everyone pays for primary care in the ER. healthcare debate has moved beyond idiotic to futile.
Whew! That's better amigo!
Will definitely take that under advisement Loma. I tried not to reveal anything anyone couldn't find already in a Google search. I didn't mention the specific church and there are a lot of them that do Lifeteen so they can keep guessing.
Scott - I am a bit concerned about your having revealed so much of your personal life on the "never goes away" internet. It's kinda creepy for me to watch. I would advise more constraint.
I guess I am too far removed from my religious roots. I have always considered Pat Buchanan a mentally ill aberration. Most notably, in the area of choice. I really thought that most Catholics felt that abortion was a personal choice, which for the individual Catholic (emphasis on individual) was always a pro-life one.
"I think his main objection is that he objects to the notion that health care is a right."
So, using his logic, there is a God-given right to be born, but once out of the womb, you are on your own?
My wife is also a Roman Catholic, 16 years of Catholic education. Her father held every job in his parish except deacon and priest. She also has a legally married, lesbian niece and her entire family, all Catholic, is pro-choice. She deals with the schism in the faith - and the obvious contradiction with her family's values - by just staying home on Sunday mornings. The archdiocese seems to doing just fine without her check in the plate.
Give me some big league chew and I can sound like boomhower
Hey! I shoot pool. In sports bars. Need I say more?
Ok. Undercover Honky. ;-)
when it gets bad I just picture myself in key west eating key lime pie
You could try using a hand signal. Maybe forming the letter "D" or something. And if someone notices you can say you are practicing your gang sign to better connect with the kids. ;)
I am in a similar situation myself. I look like a redneck, but as you all know I am anything but. I hear things that would make your hair curl. I have learned to smile and glaze my eyes over. It looks like I am paying attention, but I am really screaming inside.
I’m with Scott. Deception and misdirection are the pathways to information. To wit, if people think I think like they think they are much more likely to tell me what they really think.
Just call me Undercover Honky.
If they learn they learn. Besides, it means we get more readership.
I'm in a similar situation with family. The other day when I had trouble getting my daughter into a doctor I was told by a family member that "it's gonna be illegal to get treatment for kids when Obama takes over" to which I responded "bull shit" and hung up the phone. I don't have the same self control as you. I need to learn to emulate your curious nature. Maybe I could learn something.
Oh, and, um, if they use the google, they'll learn you're a mole! Just sayin'!