By:Jerry Burke
Wow, that felt good. We now return you to your regularly scheduled reality, already in progress.
So before you start screaming "mandate" (and boy is it fun to hear Bush say "man-date"), let us remember a few (prepare yourselves) facts. Bush won a second term by the closest margin ever for an incumbent. Kerry garnered the second-largest popular vote total for any candidate in history, winner or loser. And it came down to one state, Ohio, where they used paper record-less voting machines built by a company whose CEO pledged his commitment "to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the President" in 2002.
And, no, I'm not going all Oliver Stone on you. Bush won. And tell us what he won, Bob! Record deficits, the weakest dollar in a generation and a little confrontation in Iraq which, despite major combat operations being declared over 18 months ago, is starting to look a lot like every doomsday movie ever made.
Wow, with prizes like that, maybe Kerry is better off staying in the Senate.
This week, I got a lovely letter from a reader, who sent the Nov. 4 front page of Newsday along with two pictures: one of me, with the message, "#1 [expletive deleted]," and one of Kerry and his wife -- "#2 [expletive deleted] w/ wife." The letter also suggested that I "stick it" in an uncomfortable place.
To this reader, who left no contact information, thank you. I didn't think I could crack the upper ranks of expletives deleted when competing against people like you. But at least my name accompanies what I write.
But here's the thing, folks. You need people like me. You need the people on the other side, too. We who keep the debate flowing are vital to the democracy we call America. It is silence that would kill it.
It will be my divine pleasure to point out that reasonable conservatives have allied themselves with people who still, in A.D. 2004, think Darwin was a crackpot. I will also enthusiastically remind you that abortion is actually on the rise nationwide under Bush, that divorce rates in Texas are nearly twice as high as they are in the evil state of Massachusetts, and that all states directly affected by Sept. 11 remain very, very blue.
This is not to mock the religious right. In this county, people are entitled to their beliefs and to act accordingly in everyday life. But so am I, friend. And I believe that poverty, not gay marriage, is the greatest threat to the American family.
I'm not moving anywhere. I remain defiant, and will continue to shoot my blow darts at the mighty beast until it falls or runs away. As long as I am free to open my big mouth, it's open. Feel free to listen or toss it in the trash. You have that right. For now, at least; Patriot Act Two ain't lookin' so sweet.
