I recently conducted a social experiment. It should come as no surprise that Seattle is a very liberal city that is essentially run by Democrats. Over the past year, I've determined that the sentiment in this city in general is that anybody who is even just barely right of center is considered persona non grata, brainwashed or just plain stupid. If you don't think that Obama is the next Messiah, you just need to keep your trap shut about it.

I knew there had to be Republicans in this city - I had heard about a "young Republican" club that meets regularly and decided to check out their happy hour. I was fascinated about this group that was so willing to congrigate out in the open and very curious to see where they would meet, how they would meet (I invisioned cloaks, passwords, secret handshakes, etc), what kind of people they were. The experience was enlightening.

They met up at a very swanky bar, that had mandatory valet parking (not free). The group was surprisingly large, but entirely pushed into the far corner of the bar, tables littered with "Rossi" stickers (Dino Rossi is the R candidate for governor of WA). There were at least 5-6 tables between the group and anybody else at the bar. I inquired if they usually meet at places like this, and they do. If only to lower the chances of having people throw stuff at them.

This group is very politically active - at least as much as can be effective by Republicans in Seattle, but they spoke of how difficult it is to be conservative in the city. How when they are with their Seattle Democrat friends, they have to bite their tongue during any political discussion for fear of being crucified. How they don't put stickers on their cars because it is an open invitation for vandalism. It almost felt like I was sitting in on a support group.

Personally, I found this to be really upsetting. I love where I live. I love the fact that Seattle is so open minded and tolerant that peoples' brains literally fall out of their skulls. Anything goes here. Except, apparently, being a supporter of the current administration or anything that has to do with Republican ideology. I find it incredibly disturbing that I live somewhere where people hesitate to speak their minds or show their political affiliation due to indimidation from the opposition. I know that there are places in this country where the reverse is true, where if you are on the left, you may feel out of place, but those areas of the country, unfortunately, are known for being intolerant on the whole. It just seems incredibly hypocritical of Seattle to give the impression that it will accept everything, while making a sport of browbeating the Republicans living in "their" city.