My friend Bob

I have a friend named.. well, let's just call him Bob. Most people think Bob is a nice, intelligent, easy-going guy. I think he's a glutton who drinks too much but, hey, he has a pool so I try to stay in his good graces.

In addition to his social vices (see above) Bob is a communist. (The guy has a Ned Lamont sign on his front lawn and he's serious about it!)

Anyway, last Sunday -- while shamelessly partaking of his hospitality -- he laced into me for "throwing my vote away". (He was in full purple rage, spit, food particles and alcohol flying from his mouth... It was ugly)

His irrational rage was sparked by my voting plans this November. I hate the Democratic party but, for the first time in my life, I'm planning to vote a straight Democrat ticket. I want:

1) To give the Dems control of at least one of the houses of Congress and subject the Bush administration to subpoena power in the hands of the opposition.

2) To lodge a protest over a failed GOP Congress (no executive oversight, failed wars, profligate spending, big brother encroachments, etc.)

3) To end one party rule in DC.

To my mind, all worthy and legitimate reasons for supporting a party I would not otherwise (even under pain of death) support.

Bob disagrees. He says that I should only vote Democrat if I truly believe in what the Dems stand for - any other motive is illegitimate.

As I assume that I won't be the only Independent supporting the Dems this Fall, I wonder if anyone else agrees with Bob's booze addled thinking?

_______________
Worth a read:

- From Republic to Empire? America under Bush by Ronald Bailey in Reason Online.

- Fascists... "The last 25 years have seen a 1,300% increase in the number of paramilitary raids on American homes. The vast majority of these are to serve routine drug warrants, including for offenses as trivial as marijuana." Read the rest (.pdf) - from Radley Balko at the Cato Institute.