Words That Inspire

I try not to listen. When the Republican candidates for President of the United States get together to argue with one another about who is the reddest and most conservative elephant in the room, it just grates on me. The opinions espoused on those stages have only served to make my day less pleasant. Not because I am overtly sensitive to the rhetoric being spouted, but when it comes right down to it, it's not the rhetoric to which I need to tune my system. I am one of those bleeding heart "libtards" that whines and moans every time I hear the letters NRA spoken in a sentence. Just like my sensibilities won't bring me to a Texas Hold 'Em tournament, I am aware that these events take place, but they don't hold any particular allure for me.
Until the pointed opinions and sound bites start leaking out into the day's conversation. Did you hear what Marco Rubio said? Can you believe Chris Christie brought that up? A party that is currently pushing a hotelier and a brain surgeon as their front-runners no longer surprise me at all. It is almost as if it were a contest to find the most outrageous and ridiculous points to hammer home. Starbucks holiday cups? In his ever-more stereotypical delivery, the owner of most of the properties with Trump painted on them insisted, "Maybe we should boycott Starbucks. I don't know." Which of course is the way he gets his minions to his bidding. It's the tiniest bit of reverse psychology, but Forrest Trump went on to assert that if he becomes President we will all be saying Merry Christmas, "I can tell you that." 
Whether or not the planet's supreme dispenser of caffeine is spelling out which holiday they are promoting to their devoted following seems like a pleasant enough diversion compared to the way a few of the other GOP candidates decided to spend their pre-debate time. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee all showed up last Friday at a rally held by Pastor Kevin Swanson in Des Moines, Iowa. For those of you unfamiliar with Pastor Swanson's work, he's the man of God who insists that America needs to repent for everything from Harry Potter and Leroy Van Dyke. Oh, and he says the Bible requires the death penalty for homosexuals. Jindal, Cruz and Huckabee may have anything better to do on a Friday night in Des Moines. Or maybe the fear these men have of God or at least of voters who claim to be God-fearing kept them from seeking out alternative entertainments last week. But I'll give Ted "The Cruiser" Cruz the last word on this one. In his interview with Pastor Swanson, the Senator had this to say, "Any president who doesn't begin every day on his knees isn't fit to be commander-in-chief of this country." Thank you for that mental image, Senator.