Obnoxiously repugnant Texans

I am a 48-year-old lifelong Democrat who has the geographic misfortune to be living in the heart of Bush country (West Texas). Around these parts, virtually any attempt at a rational discussion of Bush's failed policies, both foreign and domestic, is doomed to failure for two reasons:

a) You get the knee-jerk response of "Aw, hail, boy, y'all are just one o' them dag-gone liberals," as though the simple fact of my political affiliation totally negates any facts I may try to present;

OR:

b) Some smug, self-righteous cotton-eyed schmoe with an "Amurrica Love It or Leave It" bumper sticker on his Ford F-150 (and who knows less about politics than I do about particle physics) will ask the question, "Well, what would you have done differently?"

My questions for you are these: Is it really necessary for anyone who disagrees with Bush to have a whole slate of alternative strategies on hand to trot out on demand for any flag-waving yahoo? Is it not enough to SEE that something is wrong? After all, one need not be a dietician to know that a steady diet of crap isn't good for you, and neither should he have to present an alternative diet when he points this out.

I'm hoping you can give me some answers.

Thanks,


Alan Lubbock,
Texas