Red State Blues

Its 3:30 in the morning and I can't sleep. Time for blogging!

You can tell that Texas is a Red state: the 10 coming through El Paso sports a large sign underneath the regular "Welcome To Texas" placard: "Proud Home of President George W. Bush".

I recently applied for my new driver's license at the local DPS office, conveniently located downtown on George Bush Avenue. Not far from the DPS office is the George Bush Park and Millie Bush Dog Run.

I find it interesting that supposedly anti-socialist conservatives would name taxpayer-funded open spaces after supposedly conservative leaders. Aren't they supposed to be against that kind of thing? It would be a bit like the Democrats opening up the "Gov. Wallace Center for Civil Rights" or something.

Come to think of it, however, Bush the Elder was never much of a conservative anyway. Neither is his lil boy, either.

In all honesty, I've never understood the impulse to name real estate after Our Exalted Leaders. It seems like such an aristocratic, unAmerican thing to do. Jefferson felt the same way about having the President's portraits on our currency, as I recall.

I know this sounds terribly leftist and bleeding-heart-liberalist: but what if we named all of our parks after the Native American tribes we exterminated for The Greater Glory of America and Sunday BBQs Everywhere? Maybe that would give people a little perspective?

Ah yes, but in our language, "getting perspective" is synonymous with "getting depressed", and we can't have that. History can be depressing, especially if it hasn't been whitewashed.

Anyway, the district I live in is currently represented by the Honorable Ron Paul. Something of a maverick, he is. Staunchly Republican except when it comes to the war.

The funny thing is, he has a nearly 100% rating from almost all the conservative PAC organizations, but as soon as he started raising questions about the war, he suddenly became a "leftist", "commie", "terrorist lover" and a "traitor" on many right-wing blogs and websites. Watching this happen was a watershed moment for me. I realized that modern-day American "conservatism" isn't really a philosophy of conserving anything in particular, but really just a blind, frothing-at-the-mouth Nationalism disguised as a serious ideology.

Paul, unlike the rest of the Dear Leader Republicans, actually does walk the walk as well as talk the talk. He paid for all of his children to attend college without any government loans or grants. He also refuses the standard Congressional pension. Say what you will, at least he's consistent.

My local area is so heavily Republican, however, that the Democratic party didn't even bother to run an opponent against our State Senator, Glenn Hegar, in the last election. The Libertarian party ran a canidate, however, and got 21% of the vote. Surely the Dems could at least make a showing here? Hello Houston Dems! Are you reading this?!?

Maybe I could put myself on the next ballot for the Dems. I've got no history, no baggage and no chance of winning.

It might be quite an experience.