...and I'm getting my vote hands ready

He’d hold his right hand high above his head for extra effect…kind of like he was making some sort of proclamation or promise. Then…always in a loud and passionate voice, my grandpa would say the following in his thick Swedish accent: “If I live to be as old as Methuselah…I will never vote for another Republican.” He was perhaps among the most religiously dogmatic people I’ve ever known…but despite his fervent social conservatism, from the time after the Great Depression up until his death at 96 in 1991, to my knowledge, he never voted for a Republican for U.S. President (he may have pulled the lever a time or two for Republican North Dakota Senator Mark Andrews).

I never really got why my grandfather was so committed to the Democratic Party, and given my knowledge of his deep-rooted traditional religious values, I still don’t know how he reconciled his old-school social conservatism with his pledge to support only Democrats.  He apparently didn’t allow his judgment to be clouded by any ancillary issues…however seemingly diametrically opposed to his religious beliefs…he just voted his pocketbook. He didn’t begrudge the wealthy for voting Republican...he expected them to. I even got the sense that if he ever were to become wealthy…he’d vote that way too. But he also counted on the working man to vote in his economic interests as well…and for him…that always meant pulling the lever for a D. It was just the way it was and there was no need for any of the polarizing, rancorous debate that dominates the airwaves today.

Speaking of obnoxious political debates on television, I was sitting in the US Airways Lounge at LAX’s Terminal 1 this past Sunday when the NBC Sunday morning talk show (Meet the Press I think) with David Gregory began. It was a bit outside my preferred New Jersey Housewives/Kardashian’s TV genre, but because there was only one flat-screen and no visible clicker…I begrudgingly started to watch.  Not long into the program there was a discussion involving surrogates from both the Obama and Romney campaigns presumably on the set to analyze the week’s election related events. Gregory framed the discussion with a less-than-flattering analysis of Romney’s past couple of weeks…citing various gaffs and highlighting mounting evidence hinting that the former Massachusetts Governor may be out of touch with the average working American.

The discussion included current Massachusetts’s Governor Duval Patrick, and a woman (Kelly Ayotte I believe) senator from the state of New Hampshire.  My normal M.O. would have been to keep working and ignore the show, however as I continued answering emails, the civil tone of the discourse caught my attention and I began to watch more closely. In the present-day sound-bite/gotcha journalism environment the exchange seemed almost like a throwback to an era when folks like William F. Buckley would sit reclined in his chair with a twinkle in his eye, holding his ink pen in a relaxed fashion, while having a respectful conversation with someone who often held a completely different point of view.

Unlike Chris Matthews interrupting and screaming into the camera…Gregory and his guests seemed to be having a ratings killing respectful dialogue. However it wasn’t long before it became rather apparent that both the Sunday show campaign lackeys were largely repeating party talking points…which included the Ayotte lambasting Obama for his failed job’s record, and Duval noting that the President created more jobs in four years than his predecessor (Bush II) did in the previous eight.  Almost regardless of the subject, one speaker seemed to have a statistic that somehow completely refuted the pervious speaker’s point. The discussion was however respectful and refreshingly civil…and it got me to thinking that the normal polarizing rancor over most elections really is largely unnecessary. The fact-of-the-matter is that there are absolutely good reasons for certain people to vote for Governor Romney…and an equally appropriate rationale to pull the lever for the President. At the end-of-the-day, there really isn’t a need for all the acidic rhetoric and heated debate…because knowing who to vote for, as my grandfather wisely figured out long ago, really isn’t all that complicated.

You see…if you love this country, if you are patriotic, and if you are among the percentage of population that is quite well off (it’s more than 1%), you might want to vote for the former Governor from New England.  Regardless how you came about your fortune…whether you worked up from nothing through your own hard work (and very likely the labor of many that work for you that helped), or if you were seeded a good sum as a start or even if you inherited most of your wealth, your instinct to protect as much of your riches and shield it from taxes is understandable.

However if you love this country, if you are patriotic, and if you are among the multitudes that work hard every day struggling to get ahead while a relatively small percentage of the already wealthy get even richer, then your desire for a more just share of the economic pie is equally understandable…and your instinct to check the box next to the President’s name also makes perfect sense.

It isn’t complicated, it isn’t about good or bad, it isn’t about patriotism and there really isn’t a need for all the acrimonious bank-n-forth. If you’re rich…or even just very well off, go ahead and vote for the Governor. He has been unequivocal in his pledge to protect your interests…and I suspect as a man of his word…he will do just that. However if you’re not rich…or even among the population’s top 10% of income earners, then consider punching the card for a President committed to protecting working people and their families.

My grandpa  was the hardworking son of Swedish immigrants and despite his efforts and struggles, he never earned much more than 10K in any given year. Despite his rigid social beliefs deeply rooted in the hugely conservative Evangelical Free Church, he was a yellow dog Roosevelt Democrat that never forgave Herbert Hoover for “turning his back” on the family farm during the Great Depression. I don’t know of a more religious man than my grandpa…and when he died in 1991 he actually looked forward to a mansion on a hilltop situated on streets paved with gold. In the living room of his modest North Dakota home there was a picture of Jesus Christ. Just next to it was a picture of Franklin D. Roosevelt…and as I recall…the carpenter’s picture hung no higher than the one of the former president. I asked him once how he could be a Democrat given his old-school social ideology and without hesitation he responded by saying that it really wasn’t all that complicated. “If you sign the front of the payroll check you’re a Republican…if you sign the back…you’re a Democrat.” I sign the back…I’m a Democrat. It’s pretty simple.” 

Interestingly, most of his grandkids (not me) have attained astonishing wealth as hardworking business owners in the domestic automobile industry.   They are devotedly religious people with a strong Midwestern work ethic. On pay day, they sign the front of the checks of their hardworking employees. All of my successful cousins own multiple homes and are dyed-in-the-wool Republicans. I don't hold it against them...were I in the same boat, I might vote the same way. But I'm not…and when pay day comes for me…I still sign the back of my check. I’m a Democrat…and this November I’ll proudly pull the level for the President that saved the Domestic auto industry for the good of the country…for my cousins that own dealerships...and for so many of my hardworking Brothers and Sisters that produce the vehicles they successful sell and service.  

It’s simple, it makes perfect sense and there’s no need for any hard feelings. Vote in your economic best interests and nobody should resent you for it. If you’re wealthy…vote for Mitt. If you’re working…vote for Obama. Grandpa was right…it’s really not all that confusing.

I wish I had some game...