A Conversation On Politics

The following is a real conversation I had about the upcoming election with a co-worker. For the sake of anonymity I'll call the co-worker "Ted." The conversation began when Ted said, "I'd just like to see sixteen or seventeen new Democrats elected to the Senate."

JOE: Why?

TED: Because I think we need to see some change.

JOE: And what kind of change do you expect to see?

TED: They can finally get some things done.

JOE: What will they get done?

TED: Changes.

JOE: Nothing's going to get changed by a Democtat-controlled Senate while George Bush is President.

TED: It'll provide balance.

JOE: No more balance than there is now. Republicans right now are no more united behind Bush than the Democrats. They aren't towing the party line and doing the President's bidding. Let me ask you a few questions.

TED: Okay.

JOE: What do you think about Illegal Immigration?

TED: I think it's bad and they need to put a stop to it.

JOE: Do you know where most Democrats stand? The majority of Democrat candidates support amnesty for illegals in the country now. Which means a guy who crawled under a fence eight years ago -- BAMM! -- instant citizenship, while the guy trying to do it right has to go through all the red tape.

TED: Okay.

JOE: Most Republicans favor stopping new illegals and somehow legalizing the existing ones without amnesty.

TED: Okay.

JOE: Which means your stance is pretty much aligned with Republicans. What do you think about gay marriage?

TED: I hate it.

JOE: Most Democrats support either gay marriage or civil unions, while most Republicans stand behind Traditional Marriage. Again, your beliefs pretty much line up with Republicans.

TED: Okay.

JOE: What do you think about the war on terrorism?

TED: I'd like to, um --


JOE: You want to see it end soon, but in victory?

TED: Yeah.

JOE: The majority of Democrats want to see an immediate withdrawal, or at the very least a concrete timeline for withdrawal.

TED: Yeah.

JOE: Most Republicans want to see a victorious ending.

TED: Do you think there should be a timeline?

JOE: Not a timeline so much. Call it a goal line. We need a defined series of goals we must achieve prior to pulling out, the last of which would be victory. I do think we need to be a little more aggressive in pursuit of victory.

TED: I can agree with that.

JOE: And again you are more in agreement with Republicans than Democrats. I already know what you think about abortion.

TED: A woman should have the right to choose.

JOE: Do you know that, historically speaking, it's easier to pass a law granting new rights than to strip rights by repealing a law?

TED: Yeah.

JOE: Which means Democrats would be more likely to pass gay marriage than Republicans would be to stop abortion. In fact, gay marriage is already starting to sweep across the country state by state.

TED: I know.

JOE: So abortion is essentially a non-issue right now.

TED: Okay.

JOE: This election is less important for what will happen the next two years than it is for what comes after the next two years. A Democrat controlled Senate is unlikely to advance their liberal agenda with President Bush in the White House.

TED: Go on.

JOE: The Republicans may be hard pressed to nominate a solidly electable candidate for the White House in 2008. If we end up with the Democrats controlling the Senate and the White House in 2008, this country is going to Hell.

Our conversation ended when he asked me what I thought of the ACLU. That's a conversation for another time.

Joe