Or Maybe They're Just Idiots.

Last night, I talked about the lunatic right wing fringe as held captive by the same plutocratic hegemony that has all of us in its grip.  Sure, they call Obama a Nazi instead of turning their rage on Goldman Sachs, but we are united in our fury toward the establishment.

I may be on the opposite side of the political spectrum from someone who says that government should keep its hands off Social Security, but I don't hate the vibe.

In fact, I feel about Joe Wilson the same way I feel about Mark Sanford.  Except for the part where these guys legislate one way and then live another, I couldn't possibly care less about who an elected official sleeps with.  I'd love to extend a metphorical hand across the aisle in a post-partisan way to say "okay, everyone sleeps with whomever they want - it's no longer a thing.  Break."  If Joe Wilson calling the President a liar during a speech to Congress means that now that type of thing is in play, I'm down.  I'd much, much, much prefer a political culture where the President (and all elected officials) were less untouchable glass figurines and more civil servants, just well compensated, highly publicized DMV clerks.  If we can give them the whatfor now - that's terrific - and I'll expect similar rabble rousing from a lefty Congressman the next time it's appropriate.  This is a good result. 

I'm still not down with taking the guns to speeches though. 

So, I'm feeling good about the crazies.  Maybe I'm adopting that 9-12 sensibility that Simple Jack talks about (which part of 9-12 was devoted to hating the victims' families - that's something Simple Jack has subsequently said he does). 

It's a brand new day!  I may go to a John Birch Society cross burning, er, meeting, later on.

But then I read this.

It's worse than that.

That's a New Jersey poll.  Those numbers are all voters.  So, a fifth of the voters in Jersey aren't sure if Obama's the Anti-Christ. 

When you ask Republicans, it's 1/3. 

And when you ask Hispanics, it's almost half.  Almost half of the Hispanics in New Jersey think the President of the United States may be the anti-Christ.

That means that almost half of the Hispanics in New Jersey actually believe the anti-Christ may exist, which is troubling enough. 

18,000 real Americans die every year because of a lack of health insurance.

That's a 9/11 every two months. 

But we're worried about ghost stories and fairy tales. 

The Devil's imaginary.  He won't get you any faster than the Easter Bunny will bring you a chocolate egg. 

What's gonna get you is not having health care.

(edit - on the other hand, which makes three hands, I believe, and creates an even more pressing need for health care, I thought Edgar Renteria was going to come through for me last night.  He did not.  They break my heart every year.  Where's the public option on my baseball team never having won a World Series?)