Rolling Over in His Grave

My Uncle G was a Richmond, Va., resident for much of his adult life, until the day he passed on nearly six years ago. I respected him for many things, not the least of which were his intelligence, his ambition, and his notable successes as an engineer and businessman, one who accumulated, enjoyed, and left behind considerable wealth.

Small surprise that Uncle G was a die-hard conservative Republican. He was also a man who — despite his ability to rise above many challenges — never seemed to transcend one of the most insidious of the anchors that weighed down multiple members of his generation; namely, a latent intolerance for diversity.

And so, if the dead do in fact have a sense of the living, I imagine my uncle G’s ghost is quite agitated tonight by several developments …

1. The fact that his fellow Virginians (Republicans included) turned out big for Barack Obama today:

“… Obama was winning 66 percent to 33 percent among independents, who made up a fifth of the Democratic electorate in Virginia, where voters can cross party lines in primaries. He did even better — 70 percent to 26 percent — among Republicans, who made up 8 percent of the Democratic vote.

2. The prospect that the crimson-red state of his beloved Virginia may turn bright blue in November:

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine said in an interview on MSNBC that the makeup of the Democratic electorate bore out his belief that Obama could strongly attract independent voters in November in Virginia, which has been solidly Republican in previous presidential elections.

3. The wry smile barely masking the giddy celebration going on in the mind of his nephew, as I am more convinced each day that I will not only vote for a Democrat for President for the first time in my life this November, but I will likely vote for the same Democrat who was this day boosted by Virginia’s resounding voice.