I had my teeth cleaned today, which is probably more than you want to know. I'll spare you the details, but I did want to bring it up because I had a fairly involved political discussion (as involved a discussion as one can have when one party in said discussion is wielding a pointy metal tool in the proximity of your gumline) with the hygienist.
We had been talking about healthcare costs and the crisis here in the United States and she divulged that her employer, one of the largest dental practices here, does not offer insurance. She is without healthcare coverage, joining the 40 million other Americans who also lack that coverage. Her father, who should probably be retired, works at a local grocery store just for the benefits. At some point in our conversation--in between the scraping and poking and moaning (from me, that is)--she asked if I had watched Our Dear Leader speak on television last night. I replied that I had not, that I do try very hard to limit how often I see him speak so as to preserve my precious low blood pressure readings. She laughed, but said that she had once supported Our Dear Leader--had voted for him not once but twice--but now she did not.
Although my mouth was already open, what my jaw wanted to do was drop. Here is a woman without health insurance trying desperately to make a better life for herself and she votes twice for Bush? Now, she says, she believes he is only out for himself and his corporate buddies, his refusal to allow a windfall tax on oil companies her signal that perhaps the little guy isn't his first priority.
What are Democrats doing wrong that we can't attract a woman like this? How could she think that she would get a better deal from the Republicans? It doesn't make any sense for me. My father always said that he didn't understand a woman who would vote for a Republican anyway ("It's like a chicken voting for Col. Saunders," is what he would actually say) and that has always seemed pretty accurate to me. But somehow, the Republicans have managed to convince vast swathes of the populace to vote against their own self-interest and for the interests of corporate America. As progressives, we need to ruminate on this--as I know many already have--and figure out why it is that so many people don't see an alternative.