Just my random thoughts of the day about politics

Is it just me or is the Republican party just getting scarier and scarier?

The New York Times today lists the following individuals as potential presidential candidates for the Republican party in 2012 (in order of appearance in the article): Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, Mike Pence, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee, George Pataki, Ron Paul, Haley Barbour, John Thune, and Jim DeMint.

Now I’m a registered Democrat, but only because I like participating in the primary process. I have rarely voted a straight-party-line ticket. Chris Shays had my vote in many election cycles as a Republican from CT-4. I also voted for Joe Lieberman, who basically is a Republican wannabe. I’m a big fan of John Danforth. And bring me any senator from the great state of Maine.

But Rick Santorum? Jim DeMint? Not to mention Russia’s neighbor. It scares me when I look at a list of Republican candidates and I find Mitt Romney attractive. I mean, what’s with the hair?

I actually find myself missing George I, Ron, and even Dick. These guys at least, in my opinion, thought a moment or two before they spoke. They may not have taken leadership positions in the ways I would have liked them to, but they did try to be constructive.

I feel like I’m in some sort of bizarre twist of the Twilight Zone. It’s the Twilight Zone because its all kind of spooky and weird. It’s a twist because it’s not pretend, it’s real.

St. Louis is a highly educated, progressive metropolitan area, by and large. Dan and I have always felt safe and, dare I say, welcomed here. Gawd knows the Housewives of Joy Avenue and I have hit it off, creating our own weird Wisteria Lane.

But even here there is a twist of the strange. Today we had an in-home assessment for Dad. There’s a great organization here in town that helps support senior citizens (hate that title – open for suggestions) in their homes. The nurse came by today, along with some other woman whose role I never fully understood. After the initial preliminaries, the nurse asked us – keep in mind the was Assessment Inventory Question Number One – “Do you have any guns in the house?” I confess that I took the Lord’s name in vain. Not what I was expecting. Of course Dad’s response was typical Dad: “We gave all the good ones away.” Thanks Dad. Big help. Yes we have guns, but just the crappy ones.

That’s what scares me about these folk in the Times’ line-up. They all have guns, but they’re crappy ones. Sarah needs a helicopter to shoot hers. Newt just keeps getting rid of wives. Mike and Rick have their Bibles as protective armor. George Pataki? Are they serious? George Pataki? Has the New York Times looked at Albany lately? Not that David Paterson is Pataki’s fault – far from it. But his presence is still, again IMHO, a reaction to the Pataki years. Just look at who the Republican nominee is for the Empire State.

Okay, so I’m done ranting and raving for tonight. The next few weeks are going to be interesting. The next couple of years – well, I’m just afraid. Canada, got any room?