Gay Place

COMING OUT, PART II: DEMOCRAT WITH CHEESE I have a few confessions to share with you, my darlings: I really like pizza. And I prefer plain cheese. It's delicious in the way that only the perfect marriage of sauce and mozzarella can be. Whenever I am ordering pizza with a group – usually a group made of people who don't love pizza the way I love pizza – getting anyone to commit to plain cheese is like pulling tiger teeth. However, when the group eventually caves in, and a sliver of plain is purchased amid the 10 or so other combinations of toppings, guess which variety goes first? And guess who has to make due with all the leftover veggie supreme or mushroom and picking off anchovies? And I do. Because I like hanging out with my friends. And I really like pizza... Bad Metaphor Alert! I really like Democrats. They're sexy in the way that only earnest dorks and policy wonks can be. And in 2007, I really preferred Hillary Clinton. Whenever I began discussions with my queer or hipster friends – mostly folks who credit disenfranchisement for not voting but were intrigued by that year's crazy presidential primaries – getting most to commit to Hillary was like pulling Libertarian teeth with a government-provided dentist. However, when members of the group grumblingly agreed to vote, they often cited doing so because they were excited by Obama. And Obama eventually won. And guess who has been supporting Obama ever since he won the primaries? Yes, I have. Yes, I do, because I still believe that whole "Yes, we can" thing. Yes, despite his admin's molasses-slow come-around to an LGBTQ agenda that's already generations late. Yes, because I prefer Democrats over greedy, mean people. So now the news stories and pundits crow that we have a disengaged electorate – and I am afraid that a good portion of that disengagement is made up of hipsters and LGBTers. Is it because we are so easily swayed by bright, shiny objects? And that our loyalty evaporates when the sheen is worn by the day-to-day of hard choices, hard work, and a difficult climb out of eight years of Bush/Rove economic arrogance? I promised I was going to bug you about voting. So here I am. And I will do so until Nov. 2. Oh, and early voting is right now. If you like what I'm saying, please go vote. Even if you don't like Democrats. Or cheese pizza. And please, do not send me a pizza. I am trying to cut my consumption. Of pizza. You may, however, send me a foxy Democrat.

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