You May Be In For A Shock

In the movie Everyone Says I Love You, a teenager raised in a ultra liberal household suddenly becomes quite conservative, but also subject to unannounced fainting spells. He lectures his family on the right to bear arms, to pray in school, and about reforming the welfare state. His parents, played by Alan Alda and Goldie Hawn, label themselves failures for not teaching their child correctly.

In the end, it is discovered that a pinched cranial artery is the culprit for both extremities - he literally was not getting enough oxygen to the brain. Once the artery was unblocked, his ideology mirrored that of his parents, familial harmony was restored, and the fainting spells ceased.

Additionally, I'm sure you've heard the adage that one who is under 30 and not liberal has no heart but one who is over 30 and not conservative has no brain.

Looks like I did it backward.

With the passing of each calendar year, I find my political leanings bearing more and more to the left . That being said, I'll continue to be a Republican, even if the majority of my party has been hijacked by others I don't necessarily agree with. Years ago, my favorite politician was asked why he remained a member of the Republican Party, despite being an unashamed liberal. He replied that it was for the same reason he considered himself a member of his church's congregation - he agreed with their ideology 51% of the time.

If you were to see my ballot in a presidential election, it would show R's toward the top and D's toward the bottom. However, there is a very good likelihood that my ballot in March will be filled up with a lot more D's.

I've been really unexcited about the upcoming gubernatorial election ever since Senator Hutchison announced her intention to remain in the Senate.

Unfortunately, I've largely resigned myself to the prospect that the incumbent will win and will end his term as the longest-serving governor of Texas.

I'm really hoping, however, that the latest candidate to announce will defy all odds and not only win his party's primary, he'll win the general in November.

And no, I'm not talking about the Kinkster.

When I was in college, I gave considerable thought to becoming a lawyer. Then I was hit with a lot of realizations:

I knew too many who didn't practice law but were still straddled with the student loans; a lot of lawyers I met didn't enjoy practicing the law; three years of additional schooling did not appeal to me.

So, I didn't go and while I may occasionally wonder what I'd be doing now, I don't harbor any regrets.

One of the many fascinating persons I met while making this decision was Bob Gammage. During the course of his public career, Gammage was elected to several legislative positions: state representative, state senator, U.S. congressman. He also served on the Texas Supreme Court before retiring in 1995. He served all his time in office as a Democrat.

I had the opportunity to eat dinner with him a couple of times and converse one-on-one. In addition to being rather brilliant, he is extremely personable. Even though he's been a member of the Democratic party his entire life, I wouldn't automatically label him a liberal; well, maybe in comparison to others but not in a stand-alone manner as say, Boxer or Biden.

Well, he made his candidacy official last week. I'm finally excited I can enter a voting booth and vote for someone instead of against another.