You would think that if you cheered your senator when he stated that the loser in an election should concede in the best interests of the people, and then he refused to concede when he lost, you would at least notice the self-serving hypocrisy.

You would think that if you heard a radio or TV personality constantly promoting hatred and violence against groups of people or individual fellow citizens, you would question their decency and love of country - and, every now and again, their sanity.

You would think that if your source of TV news was consistently broadcasting information that was totally inconsistent with the known facts, you would realize that you were being deliberately misled and misinformed.

You would think that if your representatives were against any policies that assisted the poverty-stricken, the homeless, or the sick, your oft-touted Christian values would be deeply offended by their adopting such a position.

You would think that if you learned your country had imprisoned, tortured and murdered innocent people, your sense of human decency would lead you to be outraged - and insistent that justice and accountability prevail.

You would think that if public figures were busily promoting the idea that the country is ripe for another attack, while blatantly highlighting that such an attack would serve to “prove them right”, you would question their patriotism.

You would think that if you condemned one politician for his immorality and another was caught doing the same thing, your reaction would be the same to both regardless of party affiliation.

You would think that given the fact that insurance company profits go up every time they refuse to pay the healthcare expenses of a policy-holder, you’d get the idea that we are living with a system where your health is not exactly a priority.

You would think that if your fellow citizens were left to sicken and die because they can’t afford healthcare insurance, it might occur to you that we obviously don’t have “the best healthcare system the world has ever known”.

You would think that if the worst attack on US soil occurred during a particular president’s term in office, and that same president left US citizens to die after a major natural disaster, the phrase “he kept America safe” would strike you as an insult to your intelligence – not to mention being downright laughable.

You would think that if someone told you that your heterosexual marriage would be in jeopardy if same-sex couples could also marry, your common sense would prompt you to ask them exactly how the fuck that works.

You would think that if your fellow citizen was being denied their equal rights for any reason, the whole concept of “equality for all” would so obviously be under siege.

You would think that if someone claiming to be pro-life murders an abortion provider, you might consider that person a tad less than concerned with the “sanctity of life” they keep railing about.

You would think that if a vice presidential candidate consistently displays her staggering stupidity, and ignorance of domestic and global matters, you might assess her as being less than qualified to hold any position of power and influence.

You would think that if a sitting vice president increased his personal wealth to a staggering degree due to a war he promoted and encouraged, you would question his motives – and his alleged patriotism.

You would think that if an administration sent our troops to fight, be wounded in, and die in a war based on lies, you might tend to wonder how truthful they have been about anything – then or now.

You would think that when members of PNAC predicted quick victory in Iraq, celebrations in the street, the “liberation” of a people, and were just as quickly proven wrong on every count, you might stop listening to their idiocy and recognize them as the dumbest fuckers in the room.

You would think that people would think.

But apparently, some of them don’t. Ever.

Those who can’t be bothered to think listen to drug-addled, violence-promoting, rightwing nuts with access to the airwaves – and let them do the thinking for them.

Those who refuse to think blindly follow the Judas Goats to the voting polls and the slaughterhouse, their own best interests and the interests of their country be damned.

Those who can’t think are called “the Republican base” - or what remains of it.

Those who DO think often disagree with their chosen party, their president, their elected representatives, and each other.

I think, therefore I am - a liberal Democrat.