Post election dinner was relatively spartan — tomato and mozzarella salad; some very good mortadella and a baguette. (Okay, HG had a celebratory “tin roof”: vanilla ice cream smothered in Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup and topped with salty Planters Cocktail Peanuts. Hey, got to do something piggy after a wonderful win). HG continued to muse about the election. HG liked the comment of an African-American voter: “I watched the Republican Convention. It looked like a Klan meeting. I watched the Democratic Convention. It looked like America.” (HG felt the morose Romney Boston headquarters on election night resembled the membership of a midwest country club that had just learned the greens fees had doubled). HG liked Rachel Maddow’s overview of the election. The woman is super-super smart. If you missed it do your best to source it. Very rewarding.
As an old fogey, HG thought about his days as a New York journalist and the political analysis he received from an Irish big shot in the Democratic Party who said: “The Micks vote. They all want civil service jobs so they want to be on the good side of me. Jews vote, 100%. (The big shot knew HG was Jewish or he would have referred to the Chosen People with a denigrating term). Can’t rely on Italians unless an Italian is running. (Referred to Italians with a denigrating term). African-Americans don’t count. They don’t vote. (Of course, he referred to African-Americans with a traditional denigrating term). Hispanics? Fuhgeddabout it!! (Yes, he used another denigrating term).” This pol expressed the political wisdom of the mid-1950’s. It seems more than a half-century has gone by but the Republicans seem to be trapped in a time warp,still sharing — to a considerable extent — the racist and ethnic cliches of that disgusting old pol. Yes, Republicans. African-Americans vote. Yes, Hispanics vote. And, they are willing to face all the voting machine hazards you have created and have their say about the future of this country. Hooray, says HG.