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I have a neighbor, an accountant, who was diagnosed with Parkinsonism a few years ago. He has been struggling with the disease. He used to ride a motorcycle, an now has a 3-wheel Harley. He got rid of his old Ford tractor and bought a new Kubota that is easier to use for trail mowing and suchlike. I met him near the edge of our properties talked to him a couple of weeks ago, admired his new tractor, and asked how things were going. He mentioned how expensive his medical-care situation is. He owns a small business and is self-insured. I know he and his wife have always been strong Republicans, and I wanted to see if his current plight had changed his mind on anything. I said I thought it was a sham he was having such difficulty maintaining coverage, and gently suggested that a single-payer plan might be a better alternative. This set him off on a rant abut socialism and welfare queens and whatnot, so--God forgive me--I had to point out that Clinton had left us with a balanced budget and Bush had run us well over 10 trillion into debt (counting future obligations) with his tax breaks for the rich and incredibly expensive, immoral war. He grumped at me and went driving off on his tractor.
There are some things, and some people, I will never understand. I accept that this guy, like many Republicans, is pretty self-centered, but his reaction doesn't even make sense from a pure self-interest vantage point. Small businesses always do better under Democrats.
And then there are the ones who drive around in old rattletraps, with the bumpers held on with baling wire and Republican political stickers. I saw one such wreck touting the $200 tax break he (incorrectly) thinks he got from Bush.
This is not a slam against people who drive old cars. Hell, you oughtta see my pickups. But it's just sad to see all these people deceived into holding self-destructive political opinions.
I swear the biggest collection of wingnut car decorations (camo ribbons, Wastikas, fish thingies, etc.) in my region is on the old wrecks parked in the lot at the local Mall Wart.
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