I have been making an effort lately to write less about politics here — these days, when you talk about politics, you are sure to alienate half of your audience.  Some have already tuned out, and others are not even going to finish this sentence.  To those who remain,  welcome to my convention.

It seemed timely to break my fast from politics, what with the orgy of Obama-bashing they call the Republican National Convention about to begin.  I have this to say to them: foam at the mouth all you want but I won’t be voting for your guy.

There are Republican politicians, Republican financiers, Republican talk-show hosts and everyday people who vote for Republicans.  Many people who vote for Republicans are decent people, and I know quite a few of them.  (Many are also fearful and small-minded, but I’m trying to be equitable here.)  But I have nothing but disdain for Republicans at the top, the ones in power, the ones with the money, the ones who purposely distort the truth for their own political gain and for the financial gain of their backers.

I disagree with just about every Republican stance on social policy, economic policy and defense policy.  Surprisingly, that is not why I absolutely will not vote for any Republican, in any election.  It is because the Republican Party has seceded from the United States.  Republican leaders now live in a country all their own, one they made up in their dreams. They have disowned ours.  The most convincing evidence of this was the 2010 statement by Senator Mitch McConnell that “the single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.”  Republican actions (mostly inaction) since President Obama was elected have been entirely consistent with this stated goal.

The Republican Party has not been interested in helping the American people weather the the financial crisis and ensuing recession (the one that their policies helped engineer).  No, Republicans sat on their hands, unwilling to compromise, wanting Obama to fail more than they wanted ordinary Americans to succeed.  And now, having done everything possible to engineer failure, Republicans point to our persistent slow growth and high unemployment and, of course, blame Obama.  This was the script all along, and they continue to follow it.  They are like deranged firemen who purposely set fires for the glory of putting them out.

There may be some Republican congressman here or there who is a decent man (I say this because 9 out of 10 Republican congressmen are men) and who may share a subset of my values, but I cannot vote for him because he will vote the way his leadership says he must.  A vote for any Republican is a vote for Eric Cantor and Mitch McConnell.  And those two have left the country, at least the one I live in.

So I am also left with no choice: because Republicans vote as a bloc, so must Democrats, and now so must I.  This is what happens in the game called Prisoner’s Dilemma: no one cooperates and, consequently, no one gains.

That about wraps it up.  I have pounded the gavel.  Thanks for attending my convention.  It only lasted five minutes and you didn’t have to leave your seat.