There is a great deal of interest in this year's Presidential election, as everyone seems to recognize that the next POTUS has to be a lot better than George Bush. The Democrats are riding high with two groundbreaking candidates - a woman and an African-American - while the conservative Republicans are in a quandary about their party's nod to a quasi-liberal maverick in one John McCain.
Each candidate is carefully pandering to a smorgasborg of special interest groups, ranging from gay, lesbian, and transgender people, to children of illegal immigrants, to working mothers to evangelical Christians. There is one group no one has recognized, and it is the group that will decide the election: the "Angry White Man". The AWM comes from all economic backgrounds, from dirt poor to filthy rich. He represents all geographic areas in America, from urban sophisticate to rural redneck, the deep south to the mountain west, and left coast to east. His common trait is that he isn't looking for anything from anyone. His only desire is the promise to be able to make his own way on a level playing field. In many cases, he is an independent businessman, and he employs several people. He pays more than his share of taxes, and he works hard.
Victimhood syndrome buzzwords like "disenfranchised" and "marginalized", and dont' forget "voiceless" don't resonate with him. He's used to picking up the tab, whether it's the company Christmas party, three sets of braces, three college educations, or a beautiful wedding. He believes the constitution should be interpreted literally as opposed to a "living document" that is open to the whims and vagaries of a panel of judges who have never worked an honest day in their lives (this isn't American Idol).
The AWM owns firearms, and he's willing to pick up a gun to defend his home and his country. He is willing to lay down his life to defend the freedom and safety of others, and the thought of killing someone who needs killing really doesn't bother him.
The AWM is not a metrosexual, a homosexual, and he certainly is not a victim. No one like him drowned in Hurricane Katrina because he got his people together and got the hell out. Then he went back into the parishes to rescue those too helpless and stupid to help themselves, often as a police officer, a National Guard soldier, or a volunteer fireman. His last name and religion don't matter. He doesn't throw that in anyone's face. His background might be Italian, Polish, or German with Cherokee Indian mixed in, but he considers himself a white American.
The AWM is a man's man. He's the kind of guy who likes to play poker, watch football, hunt deer, play golf, and change his own oil once in a while. He coaches baseball, soccer and football teams for the youth and doesn't ask for a penny in return. He's the kind of guy who can add an addition on his house by himself, drill an oil well, weld a new bumper onto his truck, design a factory, and publish books. He can fill a train with 100,000 tons of coal and get it to the power plant on time so that you keep the lights on and never know what it took to flip that light switch.
Women either love him or hate him, but they know he's a man, not a dishrag. If they're looking for someone to walk all over, they've got the wrong guy. He stands up straight, opens doors for women, and says "Yes, sir" and "No ma'am." He might be a Republican and he might be a Democrat; he might be a Libetarian or a Green. He knows that his wife is more emotional than rational, and he guides the family in a rational manner. He's not a racist, but he is annoyed and disappointed when people of certain backgrounds exhibit behavior that typifies the worst stereotypes of their race. He's willing to give everyone a fair chance if they work hard, play by the rules and learn English.
Most importantly, the AWM is pissed off when his job site becomes flooded with illegal workers who don't pay taxes and his wages drop like a stone. When his job gets shipped overseas and he has to speak to some incomprehensible idiot in India for technical support, he simmers. When Al Sharpton comes on television, leading some rally for reparations for slavery or some other nonsense, he bites his tongue.
He also votes, and the AWM loathes Hillary Clinton. Her voice reminds him of a shovel scraping a rock. He recoils at the mere sight of her own television. Her very image disgusts him, and he cannot fathom why anyone would want her as their leader. It's not that she is a woman. It's that she is who she is. it's the liberal victim groups she panders to, the "poor me" attitude that she represents, her inability to give a straight answer to an honest question, his tax dollars that she wants to give to people who refuse to do anything for themselves.
There are millions of AWMs. Four million AWMs are members of the NRA, and all of them will vote against Hillary Clinton, just as the great majority of them voted for GWB. He hopes that she will be the Democratic nominee for President in 2008, and he will make sure that she gets beaten like a drum.
Just a little insight on the AWM. (Disclaimer: I never claimed to be an AWM, I'm just letting you know who he is.)
Have a good weekend...
