Of NASCAR Democrats and Paul Republicans
Last week at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., I tried in vain to locate some of the so-called “NASCAR Democrats” I’ve heard about. As Charlotte is the home of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, I figured the task would be easy.
It wasn’t. And I ran out of fuel for the subject after a couple hours of searching.
But readers have emerged from the pits with their observations. Here are a few:
Writes one, “IndyCar and NASCAR spouse Ashley Judd is a delegate to the DNC from Tennessee.”
David Jay Crispin adds, “Just wanted to provide you with a NASCAR Democrat, or at least a NASCAR Independent who doubts he could ever vote for another Republican unless the party learns that inclusion is better than exclusion.
“I drive a pickup truck, watch rodeo and NASCAR and will vote Democrat in the upcoming election. I have a Master's degree in history and am pending unemployment due to government cutbacks. I was a 10-year resident of Las Vegas and moved to Utah, a hotbed of Republicans.
“I will embrace ‘hope and change’ anytime over ‘hate and obstruct.’ I know your quest wasn't serious and that you didn't expect to find a NASCAR Democrat, but we are out here and we don't like what the Republican party has become over the past few years. We are not automatons traveling the race courses of this election in autopilot, some of us are capable of thought and will employ our independence by voting against the party of ‘no.’”
Bettie Nacht of North Las Vegas says, “You have gone all the way to NC to find a NASCAR Democrat.
“We have a fairly well-known one right here in the Las Vegas Valley in Michael Myers, who runs the Queers4Gears website and twitter handle. He also has a racing podcast and is regularly found at our own LVMS. After reading his site and following him on twitter for a couple of years, I finally got the chance to meet him earlier this summer.
“Please don't let this e-mail response be read as an endorsement of your article. It was pure pabulum.”
It’s nice to have fans.
In Tampa for the Republican National Convention, I watched Nevada delegates loyal to Ron Paul create quite a stir that embarrassed party mainstreamers. The ensuing columns generated no shortage of response. Among many:
From T. Quigly, “Moosepuckey. Gandhi was an idealist. As is Mandela. As was Dr. Martin Luther King. As was John F. Kennedy and his bro Robert. And even John Lennon. Great men and women at any 'level' are idealists.
“They are the ones who uplift us to our higher selves. But, again to my point - your article did not address all the voter fraud. What is the opposite of 'idealist?' Whatever it is, that is what the scum are who are stealing our freedoms from us with this rampant fraud.
“Too bad you chose to gloss over this very important fact - both in your article and your email reply.”
Robert Seale, former Nevada state treasurer, assemblyman and GOP state party chairman, writes to lend a little historical perspective: “John, the situation in the Republican Party is nothing new. Twenty-plus years ago, I was then the Republican State Party Treasurer, the Pat Robertson folks, led by then Party Chairman Steve Wark, took over the State Convention and elected their people to the National Convention. Senator Laxalt and RNC Chairman Frank Fahrenkopf interceded to prevent a similar disaster at the National Convention. It seems as though the ‘regular’ Republicans in Nevada get complacent and are overrun by the young turks.
“Their grassroots and organizing skills are to be admired, no doubt about that. The fall out however, is that the old line Republicans quit writing checks, get discouraged and don't participate for a while, but as the young turks tire of the party activity without a fight they begin to fade away and the regulars return, the money begins to return and the cycle starts all over again. This too shall pass.”
