Pissed at the Legion Hall

My nightmare.  I am inside an American Legion Hall in a room full of angry old white men and their dried- apple-faced wives. I have just shaken hands with two judges who - at one time or another-have sent my son to jail. They are flanked by two assistant district attorneys who have - at one time or another- helped send my son to jail. (My son, of course, has also helped send himself to jail) I am in a room full of Republicans on primary election eve. I am a Democrat.  And I need a drink.

This is not a nightmare...it is actually happening.

I'll start at the end. My candidate lost. A victim of his party's guiding principle of revenge and punish. My candidate is a friend (his wife, bless her heart, is a Liberal) and he has just lost a judgeship (is that a word?) that he has had for 19 years. Was he a bad judge? Nope - even his opponent said he had no criticism in that corner. Heck - this guy was voted Judge of the Year two years ago, What  then was his sin?  He signed a petition a year ago to recall our Governor.  The party wanted to punish him and said so. I guess they got their wish.They outspent him 4:1. They produced vile campaign literature. They enlisted the help of our equivalent of Rush Limbaugh. Roadsides were plastered with his opponent's signs. Robo calls filled the days and nights,  All for revenge,  And it worked. That sure says a lot about Republican values.

The winner has minimal courtroom experience.He was barely able to function at a recent debate and didn't even know the difference between "pro bono" and "pro se".  Even I know that. He says he's "seen a lot of judges" so he knows how it's done. I watch Dancing With the Stars - so I guess I must know how to dance.

Absent a White Rabbit to remind me of the time or a pill to make me smaller, I do what any self-respecting Liberal would do in a room full of Conservatives - I drink. I suck at drinking. Basically non-functional after two glasses of wine - I tell my husband (a conservative by the way) to get me another. This request has irony since he is usually the one who is drunk.  I warn him to stay sober so we can get home. The only thing clear to me after that is I said the "F" word a lot. I told my husband's poker buddies and their snarky wives that :I hate Republicans -" you're all stupid and mean!" (I'm good with words).


The soon-to-be ex-judge has been officially shunned - just like Chris Christie.  It looks like you have to sing the company song in Wisconsin or (as Heidi Klum says) "One day you're in - and the next day you're out").