Peter is just as much a guest here as the rest of us and the
he has every right to voice his opinions and beliefs here. There have been several attempts to silence me from some of the killer queens (speaking of which, does anybody else smell a sock-puppet around here these days?) and Robert has not let them get away with it. We on the left need to treat Peter with respect...how does that go?...Oh, yes 'hate the viewpoint, love the guy posting it?', well, something like that.
I stopped discussing politics here (until after the election) because postings were becoming increasingly nasty, the atmosphere ever more toxic.
Something we all need to think about: Whoever wins this election, we are all going to have to get along over the next four years. If McCain and Palin win, all the liberals are not going to be able to leave the country and come live with me in Europe (nor can the Canadians produce enough white wine, the Swedes produce enough Volvos to keep you happy way up North.) If Obama and Co. win, the one-issue wingnuts and whackjobs can scream as much as they like, but in the end, the problems will still have to be resolved and the burden of this enormous debt carried...Even if they all move to Appalachia and secede, they will still be surrounded by a democratically Democratic US. The more hideous reactions some conservatives are threatening, I won't even think about.
The more divisive and hateful we all are, the harder it is going to be for whomever wins the election to rule. That, surely, is not in America's best interests?
On a more practical note, the whackjobs and wing nuts are beyond the reach of logic or facts. My impression of Peter and an awful lot of the undecided out there is they will go with whichever side convinces them their personal wealth is not in danger. He might be won over by rational argument, there's nothing in his writings to indicate he is a knee-jerk paleo-conservative. But the attacks from the whackjobs and wingnuts around here are the single biggest reason I would never, ever support the conservatives. Why should Peter's reaction be any different? Try respecting the other side's arguments and discussing, rationally, just why Obama is the lesser of two evils and who knows, someone might just come over to us on the dark side. Or, if not, at least they might not bear a grudge should we win, nor yet think "payback time!" should we lose.
