Opinion
Republican Voter Supports 'BlackOut'
By Mack Gardner, Cascades
[March 18, 2005] The BlackOut story in the March 7 edition ("'BlackOut' PAC Forms in Opposition to Dick Black," Observer Xpress, March 7) caught my eye and raised my ire.
I haven't voted for a Democrat since LBJ until I met Mr. Black. I'm a retired military officer and I believe a conservative on most issues, but I'm not a radical except about our security and our schools. I don't support a liberal agenda, but I do support rational behavior, teamwork instead of showboating, hubris and not self-serving rhetoric. In short, I certainly don't qualify as a "hardcore, hippie-era, John Kerry" Democrat as Mr. Black characterized the BlackOut group. And, after helping to try to overcome his incumbent advantage through two campaigns, I'd all but decided to sit this one out until election day.
But, just as before, Mr. Black's name-calling, confrontational, divisive, and radical style has incited me to be a little more active. So, despite my Republican beliefs, I confess that I'll donate time, effort, and even some military retirement pay to a Democrat. I just hope this doesn't develop into a habit. Maybe Blackout will help me avoid that.
[Originally published in the Observer Xpress, March 18, 2005]
- extreme. ineffective. dick black.