Screwing with the System:
Society would have you to believe that politics is like a baseball game. You're either a Cardinals fan or a Royals fan. As if the Democrats and Republicans were tribes or that they actually stood for something. The reality is that both parties have control and to pick one at the exclusion of the other is to cut yourself off from half of government. It doesn't mean that I like the Democrats, or that I like the Republicans. It means that I choose to put my biases aside in order to be a cause meaningful change. What matters is who is best for the country, not what party you belong to. And by being a member of both parties, it forces them to work harder that being a member of a third or forth party.
Both of these pictures were taken the same year, actually within a month of each other. The picture with Hillary was taken at the 1992 Missouri State Democratic convention. This was before Clinton won the Democratic Primary. Hillary was the keynote speaker.
This convention was my first experience with party politics. In many states there are no primaries. The party members elect their candidates. But to be a party member, all you have to do is show up. I managed to get elected as a delegate all the way to the state convention where I cast my vote for Bill Clinton. So I became one of the 400 or so Democrats in Missouri who actually voted in the primaries for president.
The picture of Dole was taken at the 1992 Missouri state Republican
convention which I attended as a Clinton Republican. I pointed out to
those who asked why a person would show up at a Republican convention
wearing a Clinton button that there were a lot of
Clinton Republicans and that most of them weren't here and that they
should be thankful that I participated!
After this picture was taken I said to Bob Dole, "You remember when you ran against Bush in 1988? Well, everything you said about him was true!" Dole replied, "It seems to have turned out that way." Five minutes later, Dole was giving a speech about supporting the president.
In this situation I put Dole and Clinton together as a set of people who ran against Bush which allowed Dole and I to be on the same side. As you can see in the picture, I'm wearing a Clinton button at the Republican State Convention.
I had a conversation with Bob Dole in 1993 at the Republican Midwest Leadership Conference which was held here in Springfield Mo. just two blocks from my office. I thanked him for supporting the President on NAFTA allowing us Republicans to share in the glory of doing the right thing for America. I encouraged him to get in on Health Care Reform so that the Democrats wouldn't get all the glory for fixing the health care system. I actually had him interested. But ultimately, he decided that killing medical reform was in the best interest of getting elected president and adopted a strategy of opposing anything that Clinton might get credit for. So he sold us out so he could run for president.
As far as I know, other than news reporters, I'm the only person in Missouri that attended both conventions. But I think it's a good idea. It tends to keep the candidates on their toes. You can tell them that you split your vote and that you don't care about party as much as you care about America. You can make it clear to them that you expect them to work with members of the other party for the good of the country and that petty partisan bullshit it not what you as a voter will tolerate.
I supported Bill Clinton in the last election and I am very happy with the job he's done. I am proud to say that I'm going to continue to support him in this years election. The Republican Party has become morally bankrupt and needs a good punishing to get it back on track. I'm hoping the punishing the Democratic Party got in 1994 will put it back on track.
In 1992 we got rid of a brain dead president. In 1994 we got rid of a brain dead Democratic congress who were too stupid to realize what a great president we have. Now it's time to get rid of these brain dead Republicans and send them the message that the interests of America comes before the interests of the Republican Party.
A friend on mine (Pokey) gave me this old picture of Bill and Hillary. Aren't they a cute couple? The Gore Family picture is from a Christmas Card they sent me.
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