Today I spent the day helping a life-long friend deck the attic of the house he and his wife are renovating. I’ve known him my entire life and her for that last 30 years or so; and I’ve know their four daughters since they were born. Their youngest daughter is 15 and is particularly endearing to me because she has always been protective and loving to my son. My friends are both conservative and main-stream Catholic but also intelligent, educated, and reasonable. They know my politics well and always have—I live in a small town on the coast of Louisiana and besides myself I personally know about two dozen progressive voters (about half of those my siblings).
We broke for pizza about 11:30 and started, as we always do, talking about family. I learned that their youngest is a political junky and is following the presidential campaign closely—so much so that she “supports” Secretary Clinton. I stopped eating and looked at her mother, “Did you see the tape of Trump that was just released? I don’t think you would want her to see that.”
She hadn’t heard anything about it.
I adamantly refused to repeat what he had said.
She went outside with her phone and came back a few minutes later. “Oh. No. This is really disgusting. I have to go.”
She left.
My friend and I talked for a while before going back to work. We’re both blue collar, we’re both family men, we’ve both been young and brash and offensive. But not even in our youthful, drunkest states would we have imagined saying such things.
We had to get back to work, but he hesitated because, well, we go back a long way and he needed to be clear with me: “You know I hate Clinton, right? And I’m not sure I can vote for her. But you have to believe me when I tell you I’m not voting for that as*hole. That’s a promise.
Secretary Clinton will not win Louisiana. I know that. But I’m always moved when one or two people start to realize that the Republican Party should not be the voice of our future or dictate the direction of this great country.
Peace.