I walked a neighborhood on Wednesday and Thursday evening for our Commonwealth Senatorial Candidate. I like walking better than phone calling and it stops my wife from nagging about my weight – temporarily. The list provided doesn’t have us visiting every house as most campaigns don’t want to burden us with having to deal with Democrats (Progressives, Socialists, Liberals, whatever). That isn’t because they don’t think we might be able to turn a mind over from the Dark Side, but rather because liberals can be surprisingly hostile, nasty and rude. I have encountered people from the political right who are busy, don’t want to be bothered, or otherwise short with me – but never someone I would characterize as hostile or rude. The other thing that intrigues me is that when I turn onto a street and see a couple of American flags displayed, invariably those houses are among the ones I am scripted to visit.
This year I have made a concerted effort to knock on the doors of houses displaying our flag that aren’t on the list. Without exception the person(s) who have come to the door are polite and when they have identified a Party affiliation, they have been Republicans. Not scientific by any definition – but interesting none-the-less.
Thursday I came upon such a house and knocked on the door. The man was friendly, open, and chatty. He also exposed a part of the Obama train-wreck that I hadn’t considered – the plight of the self-employed. He told me he had been a realtor for over 20 years and right now he was hanging on by a thread. He pointed out that the self-employed are not represented in the jobless figures. He now lives in a house that is $100,000 underwater and feels that in 10 years he will “hand over the keys to BB&T and walk away with nothing.” His gross income had been cut by over 80% while his expenses had remained the same. He had drained his savings and retirement accounts to stay afloat.
He looked me in the eye and said he “had always voted Republican before, but I bought into Obama’s bullsh**t.” That won’t happen again. I hope we can save this guy and his family. I know that none of the economists or pundits who preach gloom and doom remembers what happened when Ronald Reagan took charge. If this guy can stay afloat until 2013, the cavalry is coming.
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Wow. Excellent post. I never thought of that. And I was getting worried because the two rental properties I have are significantly under water, my tenants are having trouble paying the rent, and I cannot rent my vacant apartments. I am proud of you for pounding the pavement. Your observations on who is displaying the American flag is right on. The gentleman you are speaking of is representative of most of the people in this country. I hope we can all hang on until 2013. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteCS,
ReplyDeleteMe and him, too. I've been in the same boat - I often tell people I'm as busy as a one armed man in a leaking row boat. I work and work, but only sink deeper and go in circles.
I believe Obama's loss in Nov,12 will give me an instant boost, but I predict that if he wins re-election, we'll see suicide take an abrupt climb.
Right - That guy touched my heart. I'm self employed as well and we've been badly hurt - but not as bad as this family. Having lived through the remarkable recovery that occurred under Reagan, I am more hopeful than most. I do think that we can recover from our tragic experiment with Socialism and quickly - with the right leadership.
ReplyDeleteTenth,
ReplyDeleteI concur - Obama's best economic quarter will be his last as the nation breathes a collective sigh of relief and looks forward to having an adult in the White House.