Cross-Party Couples

I was reading this article on MSNBC about cross-party relationships. The link on the main page actually said, “He’s a Democrat, She’s a Republican…And They’re Married!” Way to go, MSNBC. Anyway, the idea behind this article was something I thought about doing several months ago but, after some initial research and interviews, I came to the conclusion that cross-party couples tend to be composed of two people who know absolutely nothing about politics or exactly where their party stands on most issues. They spew off talking points without really knowing what they mean and pretend it is “cute” that they have these fundamental differences in philosophy that tear entire cultures apart yet somehow makes them stronger. After reading the MSNBC article it seems that the author might have discovered the same thing but pushed ahead anyway; either for the paycheck or because he, himself, knows nothing about politics. Being that the author’s regular column is called “Sexploration” I’m going to go with the latter.

I could never date a Republican. A fiscal conservative, social liberal type of Republican – maybe. But a full-blown republican that walks the party-line 99% of the time? Someone who talks about marriage being between “one man and one woman,” brings up William Ayers as a reason not to vote for Obama, and thinks Sarah Palin is a wonderful candidate – I have a hard enough time accepting the fact that those people EXIST but actually dating them? I’d have to be out of my goddamn mind. And I’d hope a Republican woman would think the same way about me.

And, yeah, I’m sure the people in that article would say something cheesy like, “love is more powerful than politics.” Yeah, sure. Here’s the thing – there are A LOT of women (and men) out there. A woman’s wise momma once told her there’re short ones, tall ones, fine ones, and kind ones. If I start dating a woman that has a completely different value-set than me it would either be because I’m desperate or because I really want to have sex with her. If it’s the former, I guess I could see myself marrying her in the future and regretting it for the rest of my life. If it's the latter, anyone who goes on another date in that situation really needs to learn how to walk out the next morning without leaving a note.

But I guess that’s what happens when you, you know, believe in something. The couples in that MSNBC articles…Jonathon Doyle brings up Sarah Palin’s winking and his wife, Amy, counters with, “I like her!” That’s the pinnacle of political discourse, right there. I can’t believe you guys have made it so far. If I were doing this story here’s what I’d ask, “Jonathon, if your wife was raped in Wasilla, Alaska she’d have to pay for her own rape kit. Also, if she got pregnant as a result and Sarah Palin had her say she’d be forced to have the baby. Discuss.”

Maybe I’m over-analyzing this. Maybe I’m not giving love enough credit. After all, I wouldn’t date a Yankees-fan, an astrologer, or someone who dresses in a tiger suit and goes to a convention looking to yiff, either. Now, whereas I think that’s because underlying differences force me to view those people as fundamentally wrong and, let’s face it, ignoramuses, maybe the truth is I just don’t understand the power of love. Maybe there is such a thing as a soul-mate, and once those people meet they should get together despite their crippling differences. It’s like Romeo & Juliet, except in this version the loving couple spend their evenings eating pizza and watching The Office.

Maybe.

Or maybe he reads the MSNBC headlines and she reads the Fox News headlines and they pick candidates based solely on physical appearance and whether they’d like to have a beer with the person. Judging by the MSNBC article, I know which way I’m leaning. They should have titled the piece, “He’s a Democrat, She’s a Republican…And They Don’t Know What That Means!”

Labels: editorial, politics

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